Long Gone
by Carlet
Summary: Sequel to The New Normal. Takes place 2 to 3 years after the end of The New Normal. What happens when an angry, vengeful Regina and Cora arrive in Storybrooke, fully intent on destroying Emma once and for all?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: This is the sequel to The New Normal, which you MUST read before reading this. Takes place roughly 2-3 years after the end of The New Normal. **

Chapter 1

Emma looked down fondly at her daughter. She could hardly believe that Scarlett was already 2. That it had been 2, almost 3 years since everything had happened. That her life was truly, finally stable. And normal. Sometimes it was hard to believe that despite everything she'd gone through, her life was finally perfect. Regina was gone, she'd found her parents, and something she'd never thought she'd ever have: a family.

She watched as her daughter ran around the living room with her little toddler legs, dragging the teddy bear that her grandma had bought for her birthday last week. At 2, she was already as rambunctious as Henry and Graham were. Sometimes, she'd just watch as Graham chased Scarlett around, pretending to be a wolf while Scarlett ran clumsily around, laughing with glee.

It was times like those that made it hard to believe that it was all real. That when she'd first found out she was pregnant again, she'd (briefly) considered abortion. Emma knew that she was hardly a mother to Henry, so how in the hell could she raise a baby? It had been Graham who'd soothed her worries, who'd reassured her that everything was and would be fine, for she had a wonderful support system: himself, Henry, who had been super excited at the prospect of a sibling; and not to mention her parents.

And now, looking at Scarlett, she knew she'd made the right decision. Sure, there were times when Emma felt like her daughter would end up as cynical and jaded as she was, but there were other, more often times where, looking at her adorable daughter, she knew that there was nothing in the world more precious than Scarlett.

"Mamaaaaa….." Scarlett toddled to the couch; arms outstretched, to where Emma was currently sprawled, paperwork all around her.

"Hey, princess." Emma immediately put down her pen and picked her up. She planted a kiss atop Scarlett's mess of dark curls, identical to Graham's.

"Me hungwy." Scarlett said, her dark eyes wide. "Want ice cweam."

"Sorry Scar, but Mommy's really busy right now." Emma said apologetically. Her old self would laugh at the way she now talked (especially referring to herself as Mommy), but there was nothing she could do about it. What was she gonna do, swear at a baby?

Scarlett's face wrinkled up like it always did before she was about to cry. "Me want ice cweam!"

Luckily, Henry chose that moment to arrive home. He pushed open the door, backpack over one shoulder. "Hey Mom. Hey Scar."

"Oh, great. Henry, you're home." Emma stood up, handing her daughter off to her thirteen year old son. "Go take Scar out for some ice cream before she throws a fit."

Most thirteen year olds would object to babysitting their toddler sisters, but as we all know, Henry was no ordinary teenager.

"Sure." He said cheerfully. "C'mon, let's go get some ice cream." He said, heading out the door. Emma could hear Scarlett's giggles as they walked out.

_Whew. Crisis averted_. Emma thought, relieved, as she turned back to her paperwork. Normally, Scarlett was left with Mary Margaret during the day, so her mother got to deal with the tantrums, but today she was forced to stay home due to the sheer amount of work. Ruby had resigned soon after she'd made up with Graham, saying something about how she wasn't ready to be a full time deputy, and Graham had taken his job as deputy back, but he was just as terrible with paperwork as she was.

She looked around her messy apartment. Soon after moving into their own place (which happened to be right above her parents'), Emma had learned that Graham wasn't one for neatness. Something about liking his living space to reflect the disorder of nature. Whatever. And Emma was only OCD at work, which meant that their apartment was often strewn with Scarlett's toys, Henry's video games, and other piles of random junk. It was a small, yet cozy place. Her place, a far cry from her cavernous, fancy, yet exceedingly lonely apartment in Boston. She'd finally sold it not long after making up with Graham, using the money for their wedding.

Emma sat back contentedly. If someone had told her ten years ago that this would be her life now, she'd laugh and probably ask them what drugs they were on. Sometimes she still had nightmares about her past life. But then she'd wake up, see Scarlett's smiling face, and know that that was in the past.

~Long Gone~

That night, Emma, Graham, Henry, and Scarlett went over to Mary Margaret and David's for dinner. Mary Margaret claimed it was because she wanted to see her grandchildren, but everyone knew it was because Emma was a terrible cook.

"Gwandma!" Scarlett squealed as she toddled into her grandparent's apartment. "Gwandpa!"

"Hey Scarlett." David said, picking up the toddler and tickling her feet, making her howl with laughter.

"Oooohhh smells good. Watcha cooking?" Henry asked as he approached the kitchen, where Mary Margaret was stirring something in a pot.

"Just spaghetti." She answered. "Something so easy even your mother could make it." She stage whispered.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Very funny."

They sat around the table, eating, laughing, and chattering about the day's events. Mary Margaret told a story about how her students had let their class hamster loose, which resulted in total chaos for about an hour.

It was a normal day, yet Emma could not shake the feeling that there was something wrong. Later that night, as she tucked Scarlett in, she couldn't help but look out the window, half expecting someone out there to be watching.

"What's wrong?" Graham asked as Emma slid into bed beside him. "You look worried." He immediately began massaging his wife's shoulders.

"I don't know." Emma said slowly. "I just keep thinking that there's something wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know." Emma answered. She shook her head. "It's probably just stress."

"Yeah." Graham agreed. "I should probably help with all that paperwork, huh?"

"No kidding." Emma scoffed as she turned out the light. "Good night." She yawned. But she found it impossible to relax, even as Graham slid his arm over her and planted kisses down her neck. All she could think about was that things were about to go very wrong.

**Author's note: So, what did ya think? Like it so far? Please review! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: Thanks for all the reviews! Hope you enjoy this ch.**

**Forgot to say this in the last ch. I don't own anything. Srsly. You should really know that by now. **

Chapter 2

Storybrooke, Maine. It was amazing just how similar it looked in the three years Regina had been gone. Everything looked relatively unchanged. It was as if nothing had changed.

_Except that everything had_. Regina thought bitterly. It had been three years since she last saw Henry. _Her _son. Not Emma's. Hers. And now, thanks to Emma and the two idiots, Henry hated her. Had been biased against her. None of this would've happened if that bitch hadn't tried to steal her son.

Cora placed a hand on her shoulder. "Patience, my dear." She said softly. "Emma will get everything she deserves in due time."

Regina nodded. It was amazing how well her mother knew her despite everything that'd happened. She closed her eyes, breathing in the familiar salty air, remembering the day she'd first seen her mother in that underground cell.

"_Mother?" She'd breathed. She pressed her back against the wall, attempting to put as much space between her and that evil bitch as possible._

"_Yes, it's me." Cora nodded. _

"_What are you doing here?" Regina asked harshly. "I thought Hook killed you…"_

_Cora laughed, causing Regina to shudder with horror. It was the same laugh that had haunted her dreams years ago. "Hook's a pirate, my dear. He'll do anything if the price is right."_

"_But I stood over your coffin." Regina protested. Her heart thumped with terror, for she knew how dangerous her mother was and the unlikelihood that anyone here would come to her aid. "I saw your body." _

_Cora shrugged. "I'm a good actress." She edged closer to her daughter, who recoiled in horror. "I heard everything you said. And I understand why you did what you did." _

"_You do?" Regina asked in shock._

_Her mother nodded. "Yes." Her face, bathed in the glow of the moonlight, was filled with sadness. "I haven't exactly been the best mother. I shouldn't have pushed so hard. I just wanted you to have everything you deserved. I love you, sweetheart, even if I've shown it in all the wrong ways."_

_Regina studied her mother's face. It seemed sincere, but then again with Cora you could never tell. "You don't understand everything you've put me through. If it wasn't for you, I could've been happy!" She argued, trying to ignore the stream of tears running down her face. "If you hadn't killed Daniel…"_

"_I know." Her mother said, looking down. "I lost my temper, and I'm sincerely sorry." _

_But Regina wasn't done. "You ruined my life, Mother. My one chance at happiness!" _

"_But look at everything you've accomplished since the unfortunate incident with the stable boy. You gained the use of magic and became the Evil Queen." Cora pointed out. "You built yourself a life anyone would kill to have." _

_Regina sank down to the ground. "Then why am I so unhappy?" She whispered, more to herself. _

_Cora sat down next to her. "What do you mean?" She asked softly._

"_I've lost Henry." She answered._

"_Who?" _

"_My son." _

"_You have a son?" Cora asked, puzzled._

"_Yes, in Storybrooke."_

"_Ah, where everyone went after the curse." Cora surmised. _

"_Yes. Until that bitch Emma took him away." Regina began explaining everything that happened, starting from the day Emma drove into the town and ending with being shoved into this cell. _

"_She took my son." Regina finished, her voice breaking. "The only person I had left."_

"_No." Cora said softly. She placed her arm around her daughter's shoulders. "You have me. Listening to your story has made me realize that you need me. If only I hadn't been such a horrible mother to you. Then maybe I could've taught more so you would've known how to deal with Emma." _

_Regina rested her head on her mother's shoulder, against her better judgment. Just like when she was a little girl, Cora began combing through her tangled black hair. _

"_I'm going to prove to you that I can be a good mother. The mother you need. And together, we're going to take the bitch down." _

"Brings back bad memories, doesn't it?" Cora asked as they strode down Main Street. It was the middle of the night, and the streets were empty.

Regina didn't answer as she studied the familiar line of shops. Her gaze hardened as her gaze fell on Granny's, where Henry used to love to eat with her way back before Emma came to town.

They walked farther through town, finally stopping at Regina's old house.

"Judging by your expression, I guess this was your house." Cora said. "They've really let the place go." There were weeds everywhere, and many of the windows were broken. It looked like crazy crowds of teenagers partied there every night.

Regina nodded angrily. She'd spent so much time making sure her house was perfect, and to see it in this horrible state…well, it really drove home the fact that revenge was just what they deserved.

"Real shame." Cora said. "Well, no worries. We can just fix the place right up." She raised a hand, but Regina stopped her.

"Mother!" She hissed. "If we live here, everyone suspect something. And we can't let anyone know that we're here!"

Cora nodded, lowering her hand. "You're right."

Regina was momentarily taken aback, for she still wasn't used to having a mother who actually admitted it when she was wrong.

"Where do you propose we stay then?" Cora asked.

"Follow me. I know a place." Regina said, heading towards the graveyard. Yes, it would be a tad awkward and not to mention morbid to live in the place her father's corpse was kept, but it was the only place left that was safe enough.

They reached the graveyard in minutes. Regina could tell that the place had been ransacked. All her hearts were gone. They'd really ruined everything she'd worked so hard to construct.

"Here." Regina pushed aside the coffin, revealing a set of stairs. Waving her hand over a mirror glued to a wall in the vault of hearts, Regina led Cora into the secret safe house she'd built when she first planned out Storybrooke.

"Nice place." Cora said, looking around the decorated apartment. At least that looked the same as it had three years ago. It was still undiscovered. The perfect hideout.

They sat down on some comfy looking chairs. "So what do you suggest we do first?" Regina asked.

"Why, we move on with the plan of course." Cora answered. "What we need to do is find someone who knows everything about this town. More importantly, knows everything about Emma."

Regina nodded. "We need to catch ourselves a cricket."

**Author's note: Yep. This is similar to Hook and Cora's plan to use Archie from The Cricket Game. Please review! Its not that hard and it lets me know what y'all think so far. **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Waking up to Graham's strong arms around her, Emma felt the exact opposite of the anxiousness she'd felt last night; she was calm and collected.

"Morning." She smiled sleepily.

"Morning gorgeous." He said.

Emma rolled her eyes. "I'm the opposite of gorgeous right now." She quipped. "Had to get up like forty times to calm Scar back down."

"You still look amazing to me." He said, rolling over on top of her and peppering her neck with kisses.

"We're gonna be late." Emma murmured.

"What are you gonna do, fire me Sheriff?" Graham said. He had a point there.

"Well, we did finish the paperwork…" She said.

Just as Emma began to kiss back, they heard Scarlett's soft cries, which would surely turn into loud screams if no one responded.

"Duty calls." Emma said, pushing him off. She paused at the door. "Aw, don't look so sad Huntsman. We'll pick this up later." She winked, sauntering off to Scarlett's room. Sometimes she could hardly believe how comfortable she'd become with Graham. It had been so long since she'd truly let someone in.

"Hey, Scar." Emma said, lifting the toddler from the crib. "You hungry?"

Scarlett's cries confirmed that she was. Emma headed to the kitchen, where she deposited Scar in her high chair along with a bowl of applesauce.

"Hurry up Henry!" Emma called down the hallway. It was already 7:15. "You're gonna be late!"

Henry came rushing down the hall, followed by Graham.

"See you later." Graham said, kissing her on the cheek, grabbing his jacket, and then rushing out the door.

"C'mon, kid." Emma said, picking up the toddler. "Let's go."

Every morning, Emma dropped Scarlett off at Mary Margaret's, and then headed to Granny's with Henry for breakfast before going to work.

"Bye Scar." Emma said, handing her daughter off to her mother. Scarlett waved bye with her bear, smiling happily at her mother and brother.

Suddenly, just as they were about to open the door to Granny's, Pongo came rushing up to them, barking madly.

"Hey boy. What's wrong?" Henry immediately bent down to scratch the dog's ears, for he was very familiar with Archie's dog.

"Where's Archie?" Emma looked around, half expecting the cricket turned therapist to come running from around the corner. He was rarely seen without his dog.

Just then, Ruby came running up to them. "Emma. Something's wrong."

"How…oh, right. Wolf thing." Emma answered her own question. She turned to Henry, handing him a twenty. "Sorry, kid, but you'll have to eat without me."

Henry shrugged. "I hope everything's ok." He said, heading inside the diner.

Ruby sniffed the air. "I smell something strange." She sniffed some more. "This way!"

They ran down the street, Emma extremely grateful that she was accustomed to sprinting, for Ruby ran way faster than a normal person in boots could. They reached the door to Archie's office, which was open.

"That's strange." Emma said, noting the wide open door. Usually it was tightly closed to protect patients' privacy.

"Look." Ruby pointed at the corner. Something lay there, partially shrouded by shadows. Cautiously, Emma tiptoed over to the corner, Ruby right behind.

"Archie!" Emma said, immediately dropping to her knees. The therapist lay lifelessly on the floor, much paler than normal. She pressed two fingers to his wrist and neck, checking for a pulse, a flutter, anything. Slowly, she realized the inevitable truth. She looked up at Ruby.

"No!" Ruby gasped, her face immediately crumpling up. "He's dead?"

Emma nodded grimly. So much for having nothing to do at work today.

~Long Gone~

Cora and Regina watched in sick satisfaction as they watched from behind a tree the paramedics carry out "Archie's" body in a body bag. Their smiles grew even wider as they saw the tear streaked faces on Ruby and Emma's faces. Phase 1 of their grand master revenge plan was now complete.

"Oh look. Here comes Graham." Cora said, rolling her eyes as the Huntsman turned deputy ran up to Emma, concern etched all over his handsome face. "How sweet." She mocked.

"Stupid bitch." Regina muttered, turning away from the happy couple. She didn't know why the sight of them made her so mad. She didn't even like Graham. He was just nothing more than something she'd used to pass time. Nothing more than a plaything. Still, it was a reminder of everything Emma had taken away from her.

The ambulance drove away, and the crowd around Archie's office slowly dispersed, everyone shaking their heads in disbelief.

"Quick! Someone's coming this way!" Cora said, grabbing her daughter's hand. In a puff of purple smoke, they were gone.

**Author's note: Soooo what did y'all think? Please review! It lets me know what you think, and I'm always open to suggestions! The story's just being written now so I can still put whatever I want in. So please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Nothing." Emma muttered as she pressed Stop on the security camera footage again. "Nothing, nothing, nothing."

Graham walked over to his wife, massaging her tense shoulders. "Em. Relax."

"I can't!" Emma said, shaking him off. "I've watched this damn video forty times, and the same thing happens every time. Look." She jabbed her finger at the screen.

Graham obediently watched as the video began to play. He watched the on screen Archie sit at his desk, writing something, when suddenly he stood up, appeared to be gasping for breath, and just dropped dead in the corner where he was found earlier that day.

He hit Pause. "Looks like a heart attack."

"It's not." Emma argued. "The autopsy came back clean. He was perfectly healthy."

"Well obviously he wasn't." Graham pointed out.

Emma continued as if she hadn't heard him. "Healthy people don't just drop dead on their own accord. Something had to have happened."

"Poison?" Graham suggested.

"No…" Emma said. "They didn't find any traces of poison. Besides, who would wanna hurt Archie? He's a therapist, for God's sake!"

"I don't know." Graham said, but it was clear that Emma was ignoring him.

"It's almost as if, as if…no that's not possible. The only person…but why would he want to hurt him?" Emma muttered mostly to herself. She hit rewound the video and hit Play again, staring intently at the screen.

"Emma. Come on." Graham said. "It's late and we're tired. Can't we just go home and pick this up tomorrow?"

"No!" Emma insisted. "Graham…don't you get it? Somebody was _murdered_. We can't just sit on our asses and do nothing."

But Graham wasn't backing down. "Em. We have a daughter now. A daughter who needs us." He argued.

Emma sighed, taking off her reading glasses. "You're right." She closed her laptop and stood up. "Let's go."

~Long Gone~

"Let's try this again." Regina said, pacing around the dark room where Archie sat bound to a chair. They were in one of the rooms in her underground safe house in the graveyard. "You're going to tell me everything you know about Ms. Swan, and you're going to tell me now."

Archie shook his head defiantly. "Whatever evil scheme you have planned in mind, Regina, it's not going to work. I won't let you destroy Emma."

Regina seethed with anger. Who did this cricket think he was, defying her? In a flash of purple smoke, she crossed the room and faced him, her nose inches from his. "Listen to this, and listen well, _cricket_. Everybody thinks you're dead. We did a damn well job faking it. Nobody knows you're here. You're alone, bound to a chair underground, miles from town. I have magic." Her dark eyes bore into his watery ones. "I can make you suffer in ways you can't even begin to fathom."

"And so what?" He countered.

Regina had to give him credit. He was displaying an incredible amount of bravery despite the circumstances. Still, she was here to get information and she was going to get it. "I can kill you just like that." She snapped her blood red polished fingers. "After all, you're nothing more than a mere cricket." She sneered.

Seeing that the defiant expression was now gone, she smiled. "That's better. Now, tell me, what do you know about Ms. Swan?"

~Long Gone~

Graham squinted at the bright red digits on the clock. 2 am. Briefly, he wondered what he was doing awake in the middle of the night. He was about to roll over and fall back asleep when he noticed that Emma's side of the bed was empty; the sheets were cold, as if she'd been out of bed for a while. He looked over at the bathroom. It was empty. Pushing himself out of bed, he walked down the hall toward Scarlett's room. Maybe she was in there. But Scarlett's room was empty, save for the sleeping toddler.

Just then, he heard a soft cough that sounded like it came from outside the room. Planting a kiss on top of her dark curls, he strode towards the living room. Sure enough, there was Emma, huddled on the couch with her laptop. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a messy know and there were dark circles under her eyes. _Of course she'd be doing that._

"Em?" He said, confused. "What are you doing?"

She looked up irritably. "What does it look like? I'm watching this stupid video."

He walked over and sat down next to her. "The security footage from Archie's office again?" He scratched his head, confused. "Why?"

"Why do you think?" She snapped. "I'm the sheriff. It's my duty to solve the case."

"It's the middle of the night." He protested. "The case isn't going to go anywhere."

She ignored him, hitting Play and squinting at the screen. The video began to play for probably the millionth time of the day. "I just don't get what happened." She said, keeping her eyes trained on the grainy image. "How can a perfectly healthy person just drop dead with no apparent reason?"

He grabbed the laptop out of her hands and slammed it shut, holding it high out of her reach. Luckily, he was taller and a lot stronger than her.

"That's not funny, Graham." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Give it back."

Dimly, he was aware of how cute she looked when angry, but now wasn't the time for those thoughts. All he could think about was how tired and pale she looked. "You need to go back to sleep." He said firmly.

She started to protest, but he cut her off. "I'm serious, Em. Go to bed." He said.

Emma looked murderous for a second, and she narrowed her eyes at him, weighing the options. Fight him and try to get her laptop back, most likely lose and wake up Scarlett, or just go to bed. He held his gaze steady, his brown eyes meeting her green ones. Finally, she rolled her eyes angrily but shuffled off towards their room.

Graham placed the laptop on top of the fridge, where he knew Emma wouldn't be able to reach without the aid of a stool. Making a mental note to hide all the stools, he followed Emma back down the hall.

**Author's note: See that lovely box on the bottom of the page? It's meant for reviews! So plz review! I won't post the new, already written ch till i get at least 5 reviews! I needa know what y'all think in order to know how to further cont this story**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: Thank you SOOO much for all the reviews! **

Chapter 5

Late. She was late again. She must've slept through her alarm. Emma dashed from room to room, hurriedly tying her hair back and throwing on the first clothes she found. Luckily, she was never one for neatness. Just then, as she was about to leave the room, she noticed a note taped to the bathroom mirror.

_Thought I'd let you sleep in a bit. You look so cute when you sleep. See you at work._

_-Graham _

Normally a note like this would've made her melt. _But today, it was nothing but annoying_ she thought as she threw it aside, seething with anger. How dare he not wake her up after she missed her alarm. He _knew_ how much they had to do at work, from interviewing witnesses, lining up possible suspects, and reviewing the autopsy report.

Henry was already gone, which was a relief. Emma looked back at the empty apartment. She had the oddest feeling that she'd forgotten something. She shook her head. Whatever. It was probably just the lack of coffee. She slammed the door and strode out.

~Long Gone~

Emma cursed herself as she ran back to her apartment. How could she have forgotten her laptop? It was practically the only thing she used at work. Normally it stayed at the station but she'd brought it home last night to re-watch the security footage again. Of course, she had been rudely interrupted by Graham.

Spying her laptop on top of the fridge (how the hell had it gotten all the way up there?), she looked around for a stool but didn't see any. With a sigh, she started to drag a chair over to the fridge. It made a loud scraping noise across the wooden floor.

"Shhh!" A voice hissed from behind her. Emma immediately whirled around, expecting a burglar, but it was just her mother.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. "Aren't you supposed to be with Scarlett?"

Mary Margaret had an annoyed look on her face. "Funny you should ask that. So there I was, drinking my coffee when I realized it was already 8 and you hadn't dropped Scar off yet. So I asked myself, oh, is Emma sick today? But no, I knew that if that were the case Graham would've dropped by and told me. So I went over to your apartment. Maybe you were staying home again. I didn't know. I open the door, and you know what I hear? Loud cries, coming from Scarlett's room."

Emma immediately paled, a sick feeling growing in the pit of her stomach. She'd forgotten to take Scarlett to Mary Margaret's? She'd remembered her precious laptop but not her _daughter_? "Oh my God." She gasped. "Scar!" She immediately dashed to the toddler's room, where she found her daughter playing happily with her dolls on the floor.

"I'm so sorry." She wrapped Scarlett up in a tight hug. "Mommy will never forget you again."

Scarlett looked momentarily surprised, but hugged her mother back. "Mamaaaa."

Emma put the toddler back on the floor, kissing the top of her head. "Bye, Scar. Love you."

"Wuv you mama." Said a cheerful Scarlett as she scooped up her dolls again.

Emma stepped back awkwardly into the living room, where Mary Margaret stood with her arms crossed, a disappointed look in her eyes. Emma couldn't help but shrink under her mother's gaze. She so wasn't used to feeling like this, for she'd grown up without parents.

"Thanks for, you know." Emma said, retrieving her laptop from the top of the fridge. "Taking care of Scar."

"How could you forget your kid?" Mary Margaret asked in disbelief. "I mean, I've never had to raise one, given the circumstances, but when I think about just leaving poor Scarlett here, well. I can't even imagine it."

"I know." Emma breathed. "And I'm sorry."

"You should be." Mary Margaret said. "What's going on, Emma?" She stared at her daughter. "You look awful."

"Thanks." Emma said dryly.

"I mean it's not like you to forget your kid." Mary Margaret said. "Are you ok? Do you need to talk?" She asked, all concerned.

"Whoa there." Emma said. First of all, she didn't need this (s)mothering, and second of all, she had to get back to work. "I'm fine." She stepped towards the door. "Really." But as she left, she noticed that Mary Margaret didn't look convinced at all.

~Long Gone~

There it was again. That incessant tapping. For the last half hour, she had been poring over a bunch of witness interviews, and as usual, they revealed nothing. Nothing! No one had seen anyone suspicious Archie's office the night he died. His schedule had been empty as well. As far as she knew, Archie had been completely alone right before his death, which Whale estimated to be around 7 or 8 the night before. There hadn't been any signs of forced entry or struggles in his office. To make matters worse, she'd read over the full autopsy report from the hospital fifty times. It still said the same thing: Archie had been 100% healthy and his death had been completely unrelated to poison, heart attacks, and any other rational explanations. It was almost as if he just up and died.

Emma frowned up at the worn, cracked ceiling of the station. The tapping made it impossible to concentrate and gave her a massive migraine. _If his death can't be explained by natural causes, then that just leaves…magic._

She immediately shook her head to rid herself of these thoughts. There was no way that this was related to magic. They'd already established three years ago the fact that save for Rumpelstilskin/Gold, there was no more magic left in Storybrooke. The last of it had vanished along with Regina.

No. There was no way. No way that Regina was back. Emma had personally shoved her into that hat, and Jefferson had sworn on his life that the portal led straight into a black hole. He had no reason to lie. The only reasonable explanation was that Gold was somehow responsible for Archie's death. But that didn't make any sense, since Emma had seen him at Granny's with Belle the night Archie died; she, Graham, Henry, and Scarlett had gone out for dessert. There had been tons of people there. Tons of people to back up the fact that Gold hadn't killed Archie.

Emma leaned back in her chair, massaging her temples. Her throbbing headache was getting worse. She knew she needed to get home, for it was already 10. She and Graham had missed dinner yet again, and worst of all, missed their chance to spend time with Henry and Scarlett. She didn't want to miss out on Scar's life like how she'd missed so much of Henry's.

Reaching back to pull her knotted curls into a ponytail, she tried her best to ignore the mysterious tapping and the sound of rain crashing against the window. She crossed the room towards the window and lifted up the blinds. It was storming like a bitch out there. Lightning lit up the otherwise dark parking lot every so often. No wonder Graham, who had left half an hour ago to buy coffee, had been gone for so long.

Emma sat back down, picking up a pen and trying to concentrate on the suspect interviews again. Maybe there was something she was missing, someone she'd missed who'd seen something outside of Archie's office. Or maybe there was something she'd somehow overlooked in the autopsy.

As she reread the autopsy, she had the strangest feeling that she was being watched. Pausing several times to look over her shoulder, she almost laughed at the ridiculousness. There was no one there. No one except her, her laptop, and a huge pile of paperwork to go through.

Just then, a particularly large clap of thunder sounded ominously. At the same time, the power clicked off and a blinding flash of lightning lit up the world, momentarily bathing the dark station in white light. Emma looked up and rolled her eyes. _Really? This had to happen now? _And then she saw it.

Standing in front of the window, blood red lips curved in a cruel sneer and dark eyes gleaming with hatred was Regina.

**Author's note: Shocker, right? REVIEW! Next ch's already written so more reviews=faster update :)**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Emma screamed and backed away from the window, overturning her chair in the process. Her leg collided painfully with the metal leg of her desk in her haste to get away from the window, but she barely noticed the impact that would surely leave a bruise. All she could see was Regina, standing outside the station, ready to kill.

She closed her eyes, but she only saw Regina. Regina, Regina, Regina. Regina's dark red lipstick, her pale skin, and worst of all, her eyes. The eyes that had haunted her for many nights. The eyes that had caused her to wake up in a cold sweat, screaming with fear until her throat was hoarse. The eyes that had made it impossible to sleep through the night for several months after the attack.

She knew that it would be a good idea to grab a flashlight and her gun from her desk, but she was paralyzed with fear. All she could do was huddle in a ball against the wall farthest from the window.

She heard a whisper in the darkness. "Emmaaaaaa." Said a bodiless voice. Regina's voice was high, cold, and sinister. Emma forced herself to stay quiet to not alert Regina to her location.

"I know you're there." Regina said again. Her voice sent shivers down Emma's spine. "Come out and playyyyy…"

Then, she heard a creak. And another, and another. Emma's eyes flew open, squinting in the darkness, but all she could make out were various shapes and lumps of the furniture. And then there it was. A dark shadow by the door. Regina. She'd come to kill her. Emma tried to stand up, but her legs refused to move. Great. She was stuck here, in the darkness, completely vulnerable.

The shadow came closer and closer. "Emma?" It said. "You there?"

For a split second, Emma thought she felt the Evil Queen's cold hands tighten around her throat. She couldn't help it; she squeezed her eyes shut and screamed as loud as she could. Dimly, her mind registered that this time the voice sounded nothing like Regina's, but that didn't matter. Maybe if she screamed loud enough someone would come to her aid before Regina killed her.

Then, she heard the click of a flashlight. "Emma?" A concerned voice asked. "What are you doing?" It was Graham.

Despite the fact that this was incredibly unlike her, Emma immediately launched herself into her husband's arms. "Oh my God, it's you." She breathed heavily, her heart pounding with relief. "It's just you."

"What's wrong?" He asked, looking around the dark office. "Are you ok?"

"Regina." Emma gasped heavily.

"What?" Graham looked around, as if he expected Regina to still be there.

"I saw Regina." She said. "Sh-she was standing outside the window." Emma pointed at the window. "She was just _standing _there, watching me."

"Ok…" Graham said, obviously unconvinced.

"I'm serious!" Emma insisted. "And then I heard her whisper my name. She was _there_, Graham. I saw her."

"Em." He said, pushing back a stray lock of hair from her face. "There's no one there." He said soothingly, pushing back the blinds.

"She was there." Emma repeated.

"I think we need to get you home." He said. "You're obviously very stressed about the whole Archie thing."

"I'm not crazy. She was there."

"I know." Graham said in an attempt to placate her. "C'mon, let's go. You'll get some sleep and feel much better in the morning."

Emma knew it was no use to argue. She knew that if she protested, Graham would just pick her up fireman style and carry her to the car. As she followed her husband out, she knew that somewhere outside, Regina was watching her.

~Long Gone~

Regina snickered as she watched the happy couple walk out to their car. She couldn't believe that her little appearance had scared the little bitch so much. Seeing her scream, well, that was the most fun she'd had in weeks. Months, even. If Emma reacted so badly to this, the next phase would be even more fun than she thought.

_This is just the tip of the iceberg._ Regina smiled icily from behind the tree. _Sleep while you can, Ms. Swan. _

~Long Gone~

Emma woke up from what was supposed to be a peaceful night. Instead, she'd been plagued with awful nightmares about horrible things. Henry dying, Graham leaving just like Neal had, her parents in the hospital with comas, and worst of all, Scarlett disappearing. There was this strange feeling that the dreams had been some sort of omen. She rubbed her eyes. That was crazy talk. As far as she knew, she didn't have any magic, so therefore any magic fortune telling abilities were out of the question.

"Hey." Graham said, draping his arm around her. She immediately cuddled close to her husband. "Have I ever told you how gorgeous you are?"

She rolled her eyes, but was secretly pleased. "Just everyday."

"You feeling any better?" He looked at her, concerned.

"Yep." Emma said, omitting any details of her strange dreams. She didn't need Graham on her case again.

"Good." Just then, they heard Scarlett crying.

"I'll get that." Emma pushed herself up and headed down the hall. "Which means you get to start breakfast."

"Fun." Graham groused as he got up as well. "But at least it'll be edible." He winked.

She opened the door to her daughter's room. "Hey, Scar." She said, expecting the toddler to be standing up in her crib, waving cheerfully out like usual. But the sight in the room stopped her short.

Instead of a happy Scarlett, Emma saw the worst sight of her life. The curtains were slashed, the windows smashed in, and broken glass was everywhere. Scar's toys were ripped up and strewn carelessly around, and the crib lay in pieces. What'd happened in here? Had there been burglars? Or a kidnapper? Emma looked around frantically for her baby. But she was nowhere to be seen. Emma sifted through layers of debris, barely noticing that she'd cut her bare feet on all the glass. All that mattered in that moment was finding her baby.

"Scar!" Emma called, hoping her daughter would just look up and reach out to her. But all was quiet. She looked out into the hall, hoping that Scarlett had somehow gotten out into the hallway. But there was no one there.

Then Emma saw it. Saw Scarlett lying in the middle of the mess that used to be her crib. "Scar!" She cried, rushing towards her daughter. But the sight made her stop short. Scarlett lay on the floor, dead, a pool of blood around her, gushing from the deep wound on her head, soaking her beautiful curls.

"Scar! Oh My God, Scarlett!" Emma picked up the toddler, tears pouring down her cheeks. "Scar!"

Dead. Her daughter was dead. Emma had failed to the number one thing a parent was supposed to do: protect their children.

"Scar. I'm so, so sorry." She said, cradling her daughter. Tears dripped down onto the toddler's face.

She sat, her back against the wall, feeling numb, as she held her daughter's body. Dimly, she wondered why no one had come in yet, especially since the door was open. Her vision swam as she sobbed. Her daughter was dead. Her beautiful baby girl was gone. Dead and gone.

Suddenly, she saw two black heels appear in her line of vision, along with a huge cloud of rose perfume that nearly made her choke.

"Regina." She gasped.

The Evil Queen had a cruel smirk on her pale face. "Why, hello, Ms. Swan."

"You did this." Emma said. "You killed my daughter."

Regina merely continued to smile. "You're next." She said simply, and was gone in a puff of purple smoke.

"No! Get back here, you bitch!" Emma screeched, but it was no use. Something red appeared in her vision. Emma looked up to see the words YOU'RE NEXT scrawled on the wall in dripping bloodred paint.

The words swirled around and around her, making it impossible to see anything. Emma screamed as Regina appeared again, her hand outstretched towards her heart, a spine chilling glare on her face. Emma closed her eyes, preparing for her death….

"Emma!" Someone came barreling in. Graham. "What's going on? Are you ok?" He looked quite ridiculous in his World's Best Mom apron and spatula in one hand.

Emma opened her eyes, fully expecting to see Regina, but all was calm. She blinked in confusion. The room was back to normal, everything in its place.

"I…Regina…Scar dead!" She gasped, looking around frantically. But Scarlett lay peacefully in her crib, blinking up at her mother, her bear clutched under one arm.

"Emma." Graham placed his hands on her trembling shoulders. "Calm down."

"I can't!" Emma shouted. "There were these words scrawled all over the wall. Scarlett was dead. Regina…she was here!"

"That's impossible." Graham said. "She was sent through the portal with no way back."

"Well she must've found a way back!" Emma snapped. "She's here, Graham. She's here." She insisted. "Regina's here, and she's out to get me."

Graham just stared at her.

"Don't give me that look!" She said angrily. "I know what I saw. I'm not crazy." She hated how weak she sounded.

"Em…" He said worriedly. "I think all the stress is getting to you." He placed his arm around her shoulder, but she wrenched away.

"I'm not crazy. Or stressed!" Emma said. "I _saw _her. She was here. Everything was messed up and Scarlett was dead. I know what I saw!"

"Ok, ok." Graham said. "Still, I think you need some sleep." He placed his hand on her forehead. "You're burning up, Em." He said, leading her back towards their room. "Get some sleep."

"I'm not sick." She insisted, but then sneezed. Again and again. Emma stared incredulously at the door as he closed it and headed back down the hall. How dare he not believe her? Soon after they got back together, they'd made a pact to never lie to each other.

She knew Regina was back, and she was determined to prove that to Graham. Above all, she knew she had to do whatever it took to protect her family.

**Author's note: See that lovely little box? That's for reviews. Y'all know what to do!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note: Thanks for all the lovely reviews! **

Chapter 7

Emma tossed and turned feverishly, unable to fall asleep. Everything felt wrong. There was that weird tapping, the room was too hot, the sheets itched, and her clothes were too tight. Finally, she sat up and looked at the clock. 4 pm. Ugh. She was wasting so much time just lying in bed. Who cared if she was sick? All she wanted was to get her laptop and review the Archie case, but she knew Graham had hid it somewhere and probably had Henry guarding the door to make sure she didn't leave her room. Which meant that the only thing left to do was sleep. Maybe going to the bathroom would help.

She slipped out of bed and into the adjoining bathroom. She sniffed the air. Huh. There was that slight hint of rose perfume again. Weird. She didn't know anyone who used that perfume. Turning on the light, she stepped into the bathroom. And stopped short. The words YOU'RE NEXT were scrawled in dripping bloodred paint above the toilet. Figuring it was just her overactive imagination, she shook her head and blinked several times. The words were gone. She stared at her pale reflection, studying the dark under eye circles. Ugh. Emma ran her fingers through her tangled curls, quickly tying it back into a messy knot.

And then Emma saw it. There it was. There _she _was. Regina. She was standing in her bedroom, that awful smirk on her face. Emma whipped around, but there was no one there. She looked at the mirror again, and there was Regina. Her heart started pounding loudly. She rubbed her eyes, hoping it was just a trick of the light, but the Evil Queen still stood there.

Regina smiled slowly, as though she knew how much horror this was causing Emma. "You're next." She said simply.

That did it. Emma dashed out of the bedroom and into the living room. But the sight there made her stop short. For lying there in pools of blood, was her family. Graham, Henry, Scarlett, and her parents. Dead. Their judging, unforgiving eyes staring up at her. Dead. They were dead.

Emma opened her mouth and started screaming. Screaming as loud as she could until her throat was hoarse. But she couldn't stop.

~Long Gone~

Emma sat straight up in bed. The sheets were tangled around her and she was soaked in sweat. Her heart pounded so loudly it made her head throb.

Loud footsteps sounded in the hallway, and the door was thrown open. "Mom! Are you ok?" Henry came rushing in, Graham at his heels.

"I…" Emma looked around in confusion. It had just been a dream. An awful nightmare.

"We heard you screaming from down the hall." Graham approached his wife, all concern. "What happened?"

"Nothing." She said, looking down, unable to meet his eyes. Like hell she was gonna tell him about Regina. She knew it was just a dream, but something about it felt so _real._ Like it was a vision or something. "I just had a nightmare."

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked. "You look pretty pale."

"Nope, all good." She said breezily, burrowing under the covers again, trying to calm her pounding heart.

Graham and Henry looked unconvinced, but they backed out of the room and shut the door. Emma could hear feverish whispers through the heavy wooden door. She tried to listen, but exhaustion overcame her and she fell into a deep sleep.

~Long Gone~

"Emmaaaaa…." Said a soft voice. "Come out and playyyyyy."

Emma buried her head under her pillow, trying to drown out the voice. "You're not real, you're not real." She murmured to herself. "You're just a hallucination. A side effect of the fever. You're not there."

"Emmaaaa…" The voice said again. It was so close Emma could practically feel Regina's breath on her neck. "Come out and playyyyy…"

Emma opened her eyes, and there was Regina. Standing in the open doorway. She flashed a chilling grin that made shivers shoot down her spine.

"H-how did you get in here?" She asked, hating the way her voice shook. Worst of all was how _scared _Regina's presence made Emma. She remembered her first days in Storybrooke, where Regina was more of an annoying little bug rather than intimidating. The old her wouldn't be jumping at shadows and screaming at everything.

Regina simply smiled and walked down the hallway. Without hesitation, Emma scrambled out of bed to follow her. The room spun as she followed the Evil Queen's black pea coat.

"Come back here!" Emma growled angrily, but Regina didn't seem to hear her as she seemingly glided down the hallway.

"Come and playyyy…" Regina called from the front door, which was open for some reason. Emma followed her out into the pouring rain outside. Thunder crashed loudly. But Regina had disappeared; she was nowhere to be seen.

"Get back here!" Emma shouted, not caring if anyone heard. She shivered in the rain, wishing she was wearing something other than a thin tank top and a pair of Graham's old boxers. "You can't hide from me!" She coughed heavily, stumbling in the torrential rain, stumbling her way around. "Regina!"

"Graham! Look!" Henry said as he pulled back the curtains. "I think Mom's gone crazy." He said as his mother stumbled around in the rain, talking to the air.

"Emma!" Graham immediately threw down his paperwork and dashed outside, not caring that it was storming like a bitch. Outside, Emma seemed to be talking to someone. But no one was there.

"Em, who are you talking to?" Graham had appeared by her side.

"Regina!" She said firmly, pointing at the Evil Queen, who Emma suddenly saw was standing about ten feet in front of her.

"No one's there." Graham said slowly. "C'mon, Em. Let's go back inside. It's raining."

"No!" Emma said stubbornly. How could he not see her? She was just _standing _there, smiling and waving at them, that same horrifying, bone chilling look on her face. She wrenched away from her husband, taking several steps towards the Evil Queen. "She's right there!"

"I don't see anyone." A voice piped up. Henry.

"Well she's standing over there." Emma insisted. Behind her, she could hear Graham and Henry whispering. The words crazy and delirious came up.

"I'm not crazy!" She shouted. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her parents appearing in the doorway, concern etched all over their faces. Great. "You're the one who's crazy! Regina's right there!" She screamed. "How can you not see?!"

"What's going on?" She heard Mary Margaret ask Graham.

"Emma thinks she's seeing Regina." Graham explained heavily.

"Regina?" David scoffed. "What have you done to my daughter?" He demanded angrily.

"She's sick." Graham answered. "Flu. High fever. She's just delirious."

Regina was getting farther and farther away. Emma chased after her, hating how slowly her limbs moved, as if she was underwater. She felt a pair of strong arms close in around her, dragging her away from Regina.

"No!" She squirmed, but they were so much stronger than her. "No! We can't let Regina get away! No!" She broke free from whoever it was and dashed after Regina. But she was no match for Graham and David, who caught up to her in a heartbeat. Together, they carried a struggling Emma back upstairs and into bed, screaming all the way up.

By then, her throat was hoarse from all the screeching. "Regina was there." She said as Graham tucked her back into bed.

"I know, love. I know." He brushed a stray lock of hair from her face. Emma could tell that he didn't believe her, but she didn't have any energy left to argue. Slowly, she drifted out of consciousness and into sleep, where she knew she'd be plagued with nightmares once more.

**Author's note: Yep, looks like Emma's hallucinating. Or is she...? REVIEW! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note: Just saying, this is a pretty important ch. So y'all better REVIEW!  
Also, thanks to MonkeyLovr for her amazing ideas for this ch! If you like Pretty Little Liars and haven't already, go read her story Love Me Again. **

Chapter 8 (several days later)

Emma blinked, taking in her surroundings. Where in the hell was she? She looked around, noting the familiar wallpaper and armchairs. Then, it hit her. She was back in Archie's office.

"Archie!" She said, immediately heading towards him. He sat calmly in his armchair, pen in hand. He was wearing the exact same clothes he was when she and Ruby had found his body. A sense of foreboding filled her. She'd had this dream many times, and each and every time she watched helplessly as Archie had his "heart attack" and dropped dead. Each dream had gotten weirder and weirder. Last time, Archie had mysteriously told her to "listen to the tapping", whatever that meant. But each dream had had the same ending. Except this time was different. This time she was no longer a bystander. Was she doomed to relive this over and over until she figured out the truth behind the therapist's death?

He didn't seem to hear her as he continued writing whatever the hell was so important. She waved her arms in his face, trying to get his attention.

"Archie, we have to get out of here!" She said loudly. "Something bad is about to happen!"

But he just ignored her.

She ripped his pen out of his hand and threw it across the room, spinning his chair around to face her. "Listen to me. You're going to die." She said firmly, her hands on his shoulders. "We have to go."

Slowly, he smiled at her. His face began to shift out of focus, his features blurring and melting together. Emma blinked rapidly, looking away. Maybe it was just a trick of the light.

Archie leaned in real close to her ear. "You're next."

"What?" Emma slowly backed away, realization flooding her. She looked in horror at Archie. But in a puff of purple smoke, Archie morphed into Regina.

Emma sat straight up, her heart pounding loudly. Next to her, Graham snorted softly. She rubbed her eyes. A dream. Again. But this time it was no longer a trivial nightmare. Emma couldn't shake the feeling that her dream had had some sort of significance.

By the end of the week, she was a lot better. Her mind had cleared, and she knew what she had to do. She knew deep in her bones that Regina was back and somehow responsible for Archie's death. There was no doubt about it. All she had to do was prove it, find some sort of evidence. And since everyone thought she was crazy, she'd convinced everyone that it had just been the fever.

~Long Gone~

"Em, are you sure?" Graham asked one Saturday morning. "You still look a little pale."

"I'm fine." Emma waved him off. "You and Henry go have fun." Henry and Graham had plans to go hiking that day.

"Ok." Graham said, but he still looked unconvinced. He kissed her goodbye. "See you tonight. Bye Scar." He said, leaning over to kiss the toddler.

"Bye daddy." Scarlett waved cheerfully. As always, her teddy bear was clutched under one arm. "Wuv you!"

Emma shut the door behind them. Finally. She finally had time to herself. Time to review the security footage from Archie's office. Ever since that first time she'd seen Regina at the station, Graham had confiscated her laptop, saying that she was overstressed. But Emma knew he was terrible at hiding things. Sure enough, the laptop sat on top of the fridge, in plain sight. She'd wait till Scarlett was napping, and then retrieve it.

"Hey, Scar. It's just you and me today. What do you wanna do?"

"Pway!" Scarlett took her thumb out of her mouth. "Pway with me Mama!"

Several hours and a couple episodes of Sesame Street later, it time for Scarlett's nap. Emma picked up the sleepy toddler and deposited her into her crib, tucking her teddy bear. "Love you." She said, kissing her daughter's forehead before exiting the room, leaving the door half open just the way Scarlett liked it.

Dragging over a chair, Emma reached up and grabbed her laptop, sitting down on the couch to get to work. This time, she felt as though she was watching the video with a fresh eye, for now she knew what to look for: evidence that Regina killed Archie.

But as the hours ticked by, Emma grew more and more weary, for the footage was exactly the same as the nine hundred fifty seven thousand times she'd watched it. She played it over and over, frame by frame, second by second, scouring each pixilated image for any flash of purple smoke, bloodred lipstick, just anything. But the video revealed nothing. Emma threw her laptop aside, groaning in frustration. So much for finding anything. She pinched the bridge of her nose. Ugh. She could feel a migraine coming on, thanks to that crazy mysterious tapping again. She made a mental note to check the pipes.

Emma looked at the clock. It was already 5. Huh. That was weird. She looked at the clock again. Hadn't she put Scarlett down for her nap at around noon? Usually, the overexcited toddler couldn't nap for more than three hours. Shouldn't she be awake by now? Figuring that Scarlett was just super sleepy (they _had _done a lot earlier), she turned back to her laptop.

Jesus. That tapping was making it hard to concentrate. Somehow, she knew it was important. But how? _Listen to the tapping._ Archie had said in that one dream. Had that been some kind of warning? She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to recall that dream. She remembered desperately asking him who his killer was, but all he'd said before dropping dead was "listen to the tapping."

What was the significance of the tapping? Wasn't it just something to do with the pipes? Emma concentrated, listening for it, pacing around her apartment. It seemed to get louder as she got closer to Scar's room. Three short taps, followed by three long taps, then three short again. Three short, three long, three short. Three short, three long, three short. It seemed awfully familiar, like something she'd heard in a movie or something before. Three short, three long, three short. It brought back memories of spy movies and old games she'd played with foster siblings. Three short, three long, three short. She remembered tapping it out on the walls, pretending to be in trouble during a war game while a foster sibling would rescue her. Three short, three long, three short. _SOS. SOS. SOS, _Emma realized with a jolt. The tapping had been SOS in Morse code.

So what had Archie been trying to say? Was he trying to communicate that he'd been in danger in his office? Well that was stupid, for everyone and their mother knew he'd died at his office. Had he been trying to say that he needed her help? Yeah, right. He was beyond saving now.

She knew by now that this had been a coded message. If it didn't stand for help, what did it mean then? The three initials, paired in that way, seemed so famliar.

_SOS. SOS. SOS._ Emma thought. _SOS. SOS. SOS. _What in the hell did SOS stand for?!

And then she knew. SOS didn't just stand for help. It stood for Scarlett Olivia Swan. Archie had been trying to communicate that _her daughter was in grave danger._

Without hesitation, Emma dashed to her baby's room. It was weirdly cold and silent, which was odd, since usually Scarlett liked to babble in her sleep. Something felt off, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She approached the crib. "Scarlett?"

The sight made her stop short, her heart immediately pounding. Scarlett was gone, just like in that one hallucination she'd had about a week ago. Except this time, nothing was out of place. Except for the fact that _Scarlett was no longer in her crib._

Emma knew her daughter well enough to know that as rambunctious as she was, there was no way in hell she could've gotten out of her crib without anyone noticing. She immediately started searching around the room, crawling everywhere. But Scarlett was nowhere to be found. She widened her search to the rest of the apartment, peeking in every nook and cranny. She even looked on top of the fridge, on the off chance that Scarlett could've somehow ended up there. But there was no Scarlett.

"Scarlett!" Emma called, growing increasingly desperate. "Scar! This isn't time for hide and seek!"

Her baby was gone. Her beautiful baby girl had disappeared. Resigned, she trudged slowly to Scarlett's room. The toddler's blanket was peeled back as though someone had just picked her back. Even the teddy bear was gone. Emma pressed the baby blanket, so similar to her own, to her nose, breathing in her baby's familiar scent. Tears dripped down her cheeks.

Suddenly, her head snapped up. Was that a hint of…rose perfume? Cautiously, Emma sniffed the blanket once more. Sure enough, the blanket had slight hints of rose. Thoughts began to whirl as she processed this new piece of information. She'd only ever smelled this scent on one other person…Regina. Regina had taken her daughter.

"Regina!" Emma shouted, dashing from room to room, fully expecting that evil bitch to just be standing there, smirking like in all of her dreams. But Regina was nowhere to be found. Just like Scarlett, she was long gone.

**Author's note: Soooo what did you think? For those of you who have seen this coming, you're so smart. REVIEW! **


	9. Chapter 9

******Author's note: Thanks for all the lovely reviews! Was having a good day (GOT INTO COLLEGE!) so I decided to update faster :)**

**I reposted this ch because I messed up on the last bit. Realized its not realistic if Emma leaves Henry. **

Chapter 9

Regina and Cora smiled widely as they watched Graham's car pull up to the apartment building. Hell was about to be unleashed, and it wasn't going to be pretty.

"Aren't you a cute baby." Regina's eyes flickered dismissively over the sleeping toddler. Luckily, they'd thought to place a sleeping spell over her. Both knew firsthand how loud cranky babies could be.

"Now, now Regina." Cora stroked Scarlett's cheek. "Let's not be mean here. Scarlett here has served our purpose well."

Regina nodded. It had been so long since she'd held a baby. Something flickered inside her, reminding her of when Henry was a baby. She remembered how painful it'd been to have her kid ripped away, and for a moment, regretted kidnapping Emma's baby. But just as quickly as that thought came, it went away. _Emma deserved this. Deserved to suffer the same way I did._

"Nice touch, by the way." Cora said. "The dream where you pretended to be Archie and told her about the tapping? Great job, sweetie."

Cora continued. "I've really taught you well. The way you got the cricket to chirp. Without him, we never would've found out about Scarlett."

Regina glowed under her mother's praise. It was something that was so rare, even when she was a little girl who just needed her mother's love.

"What are we gonna do now?" The Evil Queen asked.

"Why, we sit back and wait for Emma to come find us. From everything you've told me, she's pretty smart." Cora answered.

Regina nodded bitterly. "That she is."

~Long Gone~

The first thing Graham saw when he and Henry got home was Emma, frantically trashing the apartment. She seemed to be in the midst of looking for something.

"Mom?" Henry stood in the doorway. "What're you doing?"

Emma ignored him, continuing to throw pots and pans out into the living room. One hit the wall with a loud BANG, causing both Henry and Graham to flinch.

"Emma. You're going to wake up Scarlett." Graham said, trying to stop her. But Emma continued to ignore him, moving on to the coat closet.

"I know they're here. I know they're here somewhere." Emma muttered angrily as she yanked coats off hangers. "Get out here, Regina!" She snarled.

Graham felt a sinking feeling inside. Regina? She was yakking about that again? They'd thought it was just a side effect of stress and the flu. He nodded at Henry, and together they dragged a struggling Emma to the couch.

"What are you looking for?" Henry asked. "Did you lose something?"

Emma didn't say anything, instead choosing to glare down at the ground. However, Graham was quite skilled at seeing through her façade. He noticed tears brimming in the corner of her green eyes. Something was off here. It wasn't just about her Regina hallucinations. Emma hardly ever cried. Something was really, truly wrong.

Just then, he had a thought. It was 7, which was about the time Scarlett went to bed. He knew that Emma was pretty OCD about quiet when Scarlett was sleeping.

"Where's Scarlett?" He asked slowly, realization dawning on him. "She's not sleeping, is she? You're making an awfully big racket."

Emma flinched at the sound of her daughter's name. _Bingo!_

"Em?" He prompted. "Where's Scarlett? Is that what you're looking for? Is she playing hide and seek again?"

She looked up, and Graham could see tears flowing down her pale cheeks.

"Henry, go to your room." Graham ordered without taking his eyes off his wife.

"But I can help!" He insisted.

"GO!" Graham nearly shouted.

Without another word, Henry trudged off down the hallway.

Once Henry was gone, Graham sat down next to the trembling blonde. "What happened?" He asked, rubbing her back in gentle circles. Emma immediately collapsed into him, sobbing heavily. He placed his arms around her, waiting until her sobs quieted.

"Sc-Scarlett's gone…" She gasped.

Although it was what Graham had been suspecting, he couldn't stop dread from filling him. "What?" He breathed.

Slowly, Emma explained how she'd been working, something to do with a dream about Archie, someone tapping out SOS which stood for Scarlett Olivia Swan, and all culminating in Emma going into Scarlett's room to find their daughter missing.

"I-I don't know what to do." Emma said heavily. "I just have this crazy feeling that Regina took her. I mean, there was the warning Archie gave me, and then all that rose perfume. It all adds up to Regina." She looked at her husband, expecting him to do or say something, but he just sat there, a stony expression on his handsome face.

"Graham?"

"I don't know, Em." He said after a long silence. "Regina coming to kidnap our daughter? That sounds a bit far-fetched, even for you."

Emma felt as though she'd been slapped. "You don't believe me." She said. "Of course you don't believe me. You all think I'm crazy!"

"You have to admit that it sounds ridiculous." Graham said defensively. "I mean, we all saw with our own eyes. Hell, you pushed her into that portal. Regina's gone, Em. I don't know what you're playing at, but there's no way she's back."

"No, I don't know what _you're playing at_." Emma spat, mocking his words. "Your head is obviously shoved so far up your ass you can't see the truth."

Graham took a deep breath. He hated arguing with her, mostly because he wasn't good at it. "All I'm saying is, you've been a bit irresponsible lately."

Emma stared at him, her jaw hitting the ground with an audible smack. "You've got to be kidding me!" She shouted. "You think I'm _stupid _enough to just _lose _our daughter?!"

Graham shrugged. "Well, your mother did say something about how you forgot Scarlett…"

Emma scoffed. "That was just one time! What parents haven't forgotten their children?!"

"And you _have _been a bit distracted with work…" He pointed out.

"To find a killer!" Emma retorted. "God, Graham." She paced angrily around the messy apartment. "What the hell's wrong with you? You're blaming _me _for losing my daughter?"

"Hey, you're the one who said you were working all afternoon." He threw his hands up defensively.

"No. That's not what this is about." Emma snapped. "You just think I'm some crazy wacko." She slammed her hand against the counter. "I checked the windows, the doors, everything. I spent three and a half hours checking through every nook and cranny in this goddamned apartment. I didn't just _lose _our daughter, Graham. She's not a fucking cell phone, for crying out loud. She was kidnapped. By Regina."

"Why do you keep saying that?" Graham asked angrily. "Just admit that you lost her."

"I can't!" Emma shouted forcefully. "Cuz I didn't!"

They stared each other down for several moments. Finally, Emma looked away, stomping off to the bedroom. "Henry, pack your things!" She called. Henry, who didn't even bother to hide the fact that he was eavesdropping, poked his head out.

"Huh?" He was confused. "Why? What's going on?"

"Pack. Your. Things." Emma gritted her teeth. "We're leaving.

"B-but…" He started to protest, but stopped at the murderous look on his mother's face. He turned to Graham, who just looked away.

As Graham watched his wife and stepson stalk out the door, Henry shrugging apologetically at him, Graham felt powerless to stop them. Stop his family from walking out of his life.

**Author's note: Please review! It's not that hard and it means faster updates!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note: Thanks for all the reviews!**

Chapter 10

"Mom. What's going on?" Henry asked for about the fiftieth time. They were sitting in her yellow bug.

Emma ignored him, glaring straight ahead at the mostly empty road.

"Mom." Henry insisted. "Tell me what's going on. Where are we going?"

"Granny's." Emma muttered.

Henry breathed a sigh of relief. For a second there, he'd thought they were leaving town. "But why? Where's Scar?" He looked around, as if expecting his sister to be sitting in the backseat.

Emma didn't answer. Her face tensed.

"Mom. Where's Scar?" He asked again. "What were you and Graham fighting about? What were you looking for?" He pressed. "I wanna know what's going on."

"Henry, shut up!" Emma shouted. Henry immediately shrank back in his seat. Usually he'd continue to pester her for details, but he was smart enough to know that now was not the time.

They arrived at Granny's several minutes later. Emma dragged her suitcase inside and asked for a room, Henry following behind. She stomped past Granny and Ruby, who cast Henry looks of confusion.

"What's going on?" Ruby mouthed.

"No clue." Henry shrugged. He quickened his pace to catch up to his mother.

Emma dumped her bags into a corner and then slammed the door to the bathroom. Henry pressed his ear against the door. He heard the water run, and then something that sounded like…crying?

He knocked on the door. "Mom? Are you ok?"

There was a sniffle, the water shut off, and the door swung open. Other than her slightly red eyes, Emma looked fine.

"Yep." She said, trying for a casual tone. But Henry could tell that she was trembling slightly. "Go to bed, kid."

Henry slowly sat down on one of the twin beds, feeling the weight of the day's events crashing down. What had happened? All he'd heard was Emma and Graham yell at each other about something to do with Scarlett and Regina. From what he could discern, Scarlett had somehow disappeared and it something to do with the Evil Queen. But how was that possible?

He knew he had to find out what happened. But how, when it was evident that his parents weren't going to tell him anything?

~Long Gone~

Emma hit print on the Missing poster. Closing her laptop, she placed her head in her hands, stifling a yawn. Last night had been the worst night of her life, even worse than her very first night in jail all those years ago. She'd tossed and turned for hours, plagued with nightmares of the potential things Regina could be doing to Scarlett. All she wanted was to hunt down the Evil Queen, but she had no way of figuring out where she was, especially since she had magic.

Above all, she couldn't believe what'd happened with Graham. _I fucking believed him when he was talking nonsense about all of the heart crap._ She thought bitterly, crumbling up little bits of paper. _Agreed to trust each other my ass! _

The printer stopped humming. Emma threw aside her paper balls and stood up, grabbing the sheaf of papers off the tray. She planned to put up these posters all over town, on the off chance that Regina _hadn't _taken Scarlett. Besides, she knew that once people found out Scarlett was gone, they'd automatically expect Missing posters. She had to keep up appearances. Based on how Graham had reacted, she knew she couldn't tell anyone about Regina until she had some solid evidence.

Just then, there were footsteps. Emma looked up to see Graham coming in. Based on his disheveled appearance, it was painfully obvious that he hadn't gotten much sleep either.

"Oh." He stopped short. "I-I thought there was no one here."

"You thought wrong." Emma crossed her arms over her chest. "What are you doing here?"

"Last time I checked, I still worked here." He said.

"It's Sunday."

"I came to make some posters." He nodded at the sheaf of papers in her arms. "Looks like you beat me to it."

'"Right…" She looked unconvinced. "What are you _really _doing here?"

"I told you. Posters."

"Uh-huh." She rolled her eyes. "Which you couldn't have done from the apartment, right?"

"It's not my fault you broke the printer." He countered, immediately regretting it.

Emma's face hardened and she looked away. There was a long, awkward silence.

"Look. I didn't come here to pick a fight." Graham said finally.

"Could've fooled me." Emma retorted.

"I came here to apologize."

"Why?" She snapped. "You obviously don't think you did anything wrong. You think I'm just a crazy psycho who was stupid enough to lose her daughter."

"No, Em. That's not what I said." He ran his fingers through his hair, seemingly at a loss for words. "Look, we need to put this behind us if we wanna find Scar."

"Put what?"

"_This._" Graham gestured wildly. "All of this arguing."

"Well that's gonna be a little difficult. Since you refuse to believe me!" Emma shouted.

Graham couldn't help himself. "That's because it's crazy talk. Regina back? That's impossible."

"No. It's not. I saw her. I saw her with my own eyes."

"We agreed that the fever…"

"No, _you_ agreed." She jabbed a finger at him. "I didn't say anything at all."

Graham sighed heavily. "You're being ridiculous." He hated the next words he was about to say, but felt powerless to stop them. "You're just too scared to admit that you were irresponsible enough to lose our daughter that you blame your delusions."

The next thing he knew, Emma's palm hit his cheek with a loud smack. "Go to hell." She spat, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "I don't want to see you again. You're never coming near Henry anymore."

Graham could tell he'd gone too far. "Em…" He said, stepping forward, starting to apologize, but she shoved him away. Hard.

"I want you gone." Her voice had gone dangerously low. "Out of my life. I'll be back later for my things." She started to walk away, out of the office, posters in hand. She stopped at the door, looking back. "Oh, and if it's not clear, you're fired."

~Long Gone~

"Mamaaaa…" Came a voice. Emma immediately shot up. Was it just her imagination, or did that sound a lot like…

"Mommmyyyy." The voice said again. "Mamaaaa."

Emma scanned the room, pitch dark save for the sliver of moonlight coming from the window. "Scarlett?" She called out tentatively, trying not to wake up Henry, who snored softly from the adjacent bed.

"Mommmyyyy." Scarlett said. "Come play wif me." She stood in a corner of the room, illuminated by the moonlight. Her teddy bear was clutched under her arm, and she was sucking her thumb. Her dark curls had been pulled back by a red satin headband. That, coupled with the long white nightgown she wore, made her look downright eerie. That doll like ensemble was a far cry from her usual footie pajamas.

"Scar! Oh my God, Scarlett!" Emma shot out of bed. In seconds, she'd launched herself across the room. "Are you ok? Are you hurt?" She cradled her daughter in her arms, planting kisses along her dark curls. "I love you so much, Scarlett. Mommy's so sorry." She squeezed her tightly.

Tears of relief flowed down her cheeks. She had no idea how Scarlett had gotten here, let alone knew that she wasn't living home, er, the apartment anymore. But who cared? All that mattered in that moment was that she had her precious baby girl back.

She pressed her nose to her daughter's curls and breathed in her daughter's fresh baby powder scent, savoring the feel of her baby in her arms. Dimly, Emma registered that Scarlett smelled more like rose than baby powder. But that was probably due to Regina. But wait. Since when did Scarlett have short, choppy hair?

With a sinking realization, she realized what happened. Emma slowly backed away, her tears immediately disappearing. She looked down at her daughter, and sure enough, Regina's cruel face smirked back at her, her head where Scarlett's should've been.

She let out a blood curling scream. "What did you do to my daughter?!" Emma cried. She wanted to back away, get away from Regina, but she felt paralyzed, like she was rooted to the spot.

"Come and find us." Regina's black eyes gleamed with maliciousness, and her bloodred lips curled into a bone chilling sneer. With that, she was gone in a puff of purple smoke.

"No! Come back!" She cried, clawing uselessly at the air. They were gone. Again. "Nooo!" She started pounding the wall with her fists, hoping that somehow, doing so would bring back her daughter.

"Mom?" Came a sleepy voice. Crap. It was Henry. Emma immediately swallowed back a sob and stood up, wiping her face on her sleeve.

"A-are you ok?" He sat up, reaching over to click on a lamp, bathing the room in a golden glow. His hair stood up messily in various places.

"I'm fine." Emma nodded briskly. "Just…looking for something." She groped along the floor, holding up a stray bobby pin. "Found it."

But Henry didn't look convinced. "In the middle of the night?"

Emma shrugged. "Go back to bed, kid."

"It sounded like you were talking to someone." Henry commented. Damn him and his observant nature.

"No, I wasn't." She said, but it came out a lot more forcefully than she intended, basically proving otherwise.

"Were you talking to Regina? Did you see her again?" Henry questioned. "What did she say?"

Emma pressed her fingers to her temples. "God, enough with the questions. Look, it's been a long day. Can we just go to bed?"

"Not till we talk about this." Henry insisted. "I thought the hallucinations were a result from the fever. Are you still sick? Should I call Graham?"

And those were exactly the wrong words, for Emma finally snapped. "They weren't hallucinations!" She shouted. Then stopped, realizing that she'd just screamed at her son. But she was far too angry, grief struck, and confused to stop. "Look, you of all people should believe me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Henry was confused.

"I mean, you were the one who ran around yakking about fairy tales from a stupid book." She snapped. Then immediately regretted it, for a hurt look had crossed Henry's face.

"They were true." He said slowly, looking down. "You know that."

"Yeah, but…ugh, that's not the point here." Emma said, flustered. "Look. People thought you were crazy when you were actually telling the truth. Now the same thing is happening to me." She placed her hands on her son's shoulders. "Regina is back, Henry. You have to believe me."

But her words had the opposite effect, for her son just backed away from her, against the wall. "Graham was right. You are…never mind." He shook his head, not wanting to invoke his mother's wrath, but it was too late."

"No, tell me." Emma could feel herself growing angry again. "Tell me what_ Graham _said. I would just _love _to know what that bastard said behind my back."

"H-he said that you're really stressed. That you've been really preoccupied with the whole Archie thing lately. And that you forgot Scar. Mom, how could you do that? She's just a baby."

Emma laughed dryly. "Wow. So my own son thinks I'm crazy too." She shook her head with disbelief. "Nobody believes me. Everyone thinks I caused my daughter's disappearance. That it's my fault she was just snatched out of her crib."

"I didn't say…" Henry protested.

"Regina's back." Emma insisted. "I saw her with my own eyes. You have to believe me. I've never lied to you, Henry." She hated how her voice took on a pleading tone, but she couldn't help it. "I don't know how, but I sure as hell know why she's back. And she took Scarlett."

But seeing the disbelief in her son's eyes, she just deflated. "You know what? I can't do this anymore. Can't stand trying to convince my kid that I'm not crazy." Grabbing her jacket, she strode out of the room.

~Long Gone~

Regina laughed openly as she watched, binoculars pressed to her eyes, from her vantage point, high up in a tree next to Emma and Henry's room at Granny's. Emma was close to breaking. She'd lost, in a sense, the majority of her family.

_Nothing more than what I've lost_ Regina thought bitterly as Emma argued with Henry. At the heartbroken look on Emma's face as she realized that even Henry didn't believe her, Regina almost felt bad. Nobody deserved to have their kids ripped away so heartlessly, and she knew that the awful way in which she and Cora had hatched up to steal Scarlett was especially cruel. She, above all people, knew the pain it caused when your kids were stolen away and turned against you.

_But she deserves it._ Regina thought with renewed purpose as Emma placed her hands on Henry's shoulders. _That is _my_ son. My son she took away from me. And I will _never _forget that. _She flushed with red hot anger as she remembered the first day Emma showed up in town. The threat she posed to Regina's perfectly crafted new life. How, little by little, she'd won over Henry. How stupid Regina was to think that ten years of hard work, ten years of motherhood, would be enough to keep her son from turning against her. How stupid she'd been, underestimating the power of blood. It wasn't fair, what Emma had done. _Regina _was Henry's mother. Emma had given up her rights to her son when she'd given him up for adoption, and that little bitch couldn't just waltz in, play the birth mother card, and walk away completely unscathed. Never mind the fact that Regina hadn't exactly been the most loving mother to Henry. But how could she, when her example to look up to had been Cora? All it mattered was that she'd tried her hardest.

She reminded herself that Emma was just getting everything she deserved for destroying Regina's life. Taking away everything she loved. She didn't touch on the fact that it hadn't been Emma's fault that Daniel was dead, but Cora's.

And there was the whole thing with Graham. Yes, Regina hadn't loved him. In fact, he was noting more than a distraction and a hot body. A toy. But like Henry, he'd been _hers._ Emma had no right to take them both away. Take away the two things that kept her from living on the brink of loneliness.

She was so grateful that she had her mother back. At first, it had been a bit unnerving. Despite Cora's insistence that she'd changed, Regina couldn't just erase years and years of harsh memories. Memories of her mother ordering her around, forcing her into things she didn't even want to do. If it hadn't been for her father, Regina probably would've run away or killed herself ages ago. The one saving grace had been riding, and of course Daniel. But all that had been taken away. She closed her eyes as she remembered walking in the forest with Cora, after they'd escaped from that horrible pit.

"_The first thing we need to do is figure out a way to get back to your Storybrooke." Cora said as they materialized in the forest in a puff of purple smoke. _

"_How?" Regina asked harshly as she dusted off her clothes, adjusting to her surroundings. She'd forgotten how dizzying it was to travel by magic. "I don't have magic anymore."_

"_I still have magic." Cora pointed out. "I could give you some."_

"_Still, what good is that gonna do?" Regina sank down onto a stray stump, feeling suddenly hopeless. She placed her head in her hands. "How are we gonna get back? It's not like we can just create a portal." Regina sighed heavily. Her and her mother's vast knowledge of spells wasn't enough, for portals couldn't just be created via magic. One needed a certain, special mixture of ingredients to create a portal. Ingredients that were by no means easy to obtain: old portals and something powerful to restore what was lost. _

"_We'll find a way." Cora promised, placing an arm around her daughter. "I promise."_

_And find a way they did. The first thing they needed to do was to gather all the materials needed to create a portal. They tried to locate past, broken portals, which could be fixed up and reused. But Jefferson's hat, the obvious choice, had disappeared. Probably burned by Mulan and the other freaks. No matter how much they searched and searched for it, there was no doubt that it was gone. _

"_All right, let's think about this." Cora said. "What other portals, past or present, do we know of?"_

"_There are none." Regina said bitterly. She hated this useless feeling. While her mother was out interrogating others to find the whereabouts of the hat, probably ripping out hearts in the process, Regina was stuck behind in hiding, for she had no magic to protect herself. Cora's attempts to transfer some magic to her daughter had failed and no matter how hard Regina tried, she just couldn't do it anymore. _

"_Think." Cora urged. "There has to be something. Didn't you say that the savior escaped your curse? How?"_

_Regina searched her mind. She'd known that Emma had traveled through a portal moments before the curse hit. But how? She thought about the conversations she'd overheard back in Storybrooke. Didn't it have something to do with a…_

"_Wardrobe." Regina muttered. "That's it! Wardrobe! Emma traveled through a wardrobe." She wrinkled her nose at Emma's name. _

_Cora looked pleased. "Now all we have to do is figure out where it is."_

_Regina smiled slowly. "I know just the place."_

_After that, everything came easily. Regina took extra pleasure in seeing the wreckage that was Snow White's castle. It reminded her of everything she'd worked so hard for. They found the wardrobe, and with a flick of her hand, Cora reduced it to ashes, for it would make it easier to transport._

_The next step was to travel to Lake Nostos. Though it was dry, Cora easily fixed that. Soon, the lake was back, brimming with water. Water that would take them back to Storybrooke. _

_Regina watched as Cora slowly poured the ashes into the swirling lake. She could feel her heart pounding with anticipation. With every passing second, they were steps closer to Storybrooke. To sweet, sweet revenge. Sure, they didn't know exactly what their revenge plan would be yet. But that would only take time. Time that they were willing to spend to ensure Emma got everything she deserved. _

"_Last step." Cora said. "We need to conjure up the portal now that we have all the necessary ingredients." She held up her hands, but Regina stopped her._

"_Let me try." Regina said all of a sudden. _

"_Sweetie, are you sure?" Cora looked at her daughter in surprise. "You remember the last time you tried?"_

"_Yes, mother." Regina said firmly. "I think I can do this."_

_Cora stepped back from the lake. "Then by all means, go ahead."_

_Regina raised her hands. Her mother and Rumpelstilskin had always said that magic came from emotion. She closed her hands, channeling all of her emotions into her hands. She remembered what it had felt like the first day she'd seen Emma Swan in town, bringing back her son. The explosive anger as Emma slowly won over her son and stole him away. The horrible loneliness in her pit of her stomach as she watched Emma and Henry embrace in the hospital that day the curse broke, as all of her hard work came crashing down around her. The moment she realized that no matter how hard she tried, she would never ever have anyone. That she would be alone for the rest of her life. _

_And just like that, a swirling portal appeared. Regina opened her eyes and smiled in satisfaction. It was just like she'd never lost her magic. _

"_Nice job." Cora said, hugging her daughter. "Ready to go?" _

_As Regina gripped her mother's hand and stepped into that portal, she could practically taste the satisfaction of revenge. And it tasted damn sweet. _

The next and final step in her grand master plan was approaching. But first, Regina had to drive Emma's parents out of her life. The two idiots were the last people left in Emma's life. But that would be easy enough.

She cackled loudly as Emma stormed loudly out of the room. Soon, that evil bitch would have everything she deserved.

**Author's note: Well, you're welcome for such a long ch. Hope you enjoyed it! You know what to do. Hint: it starts with r and ends with -eview! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's note: Hey for those of you who like Pretty Little Liars, check out Never Speak by CarletTheMonkeyLovr. Yep, the name is so familiar because this fanfic is co written by me and MonkeyLovr. Combined our names and made a joint account cuz we're amazing like that :P**

Chapter 11

There was a loud knock on the door. David looked up sleepily. "Who could that be?"

"It's the middle of the night." Mary Margaret yawned.

The knocking grew more and more insistent. Slowly, David pushed himself to his feet and shuffled slowly to the door, rubbing his eyes as he walked.

"Emma?" He said in surprise as he opened the door to reveal his daughter, who looked uncharacteristically disheveled. It was the middle of the night, yet she appeared to be fully dressed, leather jacket pulled over a tank top and jeans. "Is everything ok?"

Mary Margaret appeared behind her husband, pulling a bathrobe over her pajamas. "Emma?"

"Sorry." She said, pushing past her parents into the warm apartment. "I just didn't know where else to go."

She sat down on the couch, a warm cup of hot chocolate with cinnamon pressed into her trembling hands. Her parents sat on either side of her. They just sat like that for a bit, watching their daughter sip her favorite drink and stare morosely at the floor.

"What's going on?" Mary Margaret asked gently. They'd known that Emma had left Graham and had taken Henry with her, but that was it.

"We heard about…Graham." David added, not wanting to say the ex Huntsman's name in case it invoked Emma's wrath. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Emma ignored them, continuing to sip from the hand painted mug.

"Em?"

Emma sighed and put down her mug. She knew that she'd never be allowed to crash here for the night unless she said something. "Scarlett's gone." She blurted.

They looked appropriately shocked as they processed this information. "Gone? As in…gone?" Mary Margaret said, her face wrinkling up in horror.

"What happened?" David asked.

Slowly, Emma began to explain everything, from her dreams to the strange tapping. She didn't leave out a single detail, recounting all the events leading up to finding Scarlett missing from her crib. She ignored Mary Margaret's disapproving look when she said that she was working on the Archie case again.

"And so, I left. Staying at Granny's right now with Henry." She finished, bracing herself for her parents' reactions.

"Oh, Emma." Mary Margaret wrapped her daughter up in a tight hug. "That's awful."

"I promise, we'll find out what happened to Scarlett." David said firmly.

Emma breathed a sigh of relief, enjoying being in her parents' arms. It was so refreshing to have people actually believe her about Regina.

The couple looked at each other over their daughter's head. "Regina?" David mouthed to his wife, who shrugged.

"Just one thing." Mary Margaret said tentatively, looking at her husband. He had the same bewildered look that she did. "Did you say that Regina took her?"

Emma nodded emphatically. "Yes. That's exactly what I said. I know Regina's behind this somehow. She took Scarlett. And we need to find them."

"How are you so sure?" David asked.

Oh no. Not this again. Emma could feel her anger building up, but she forced it back down. She needed them on her side. "I just am."

"I thought they were just dreams." Mary Margaret frowned. "From the fever?"

"No. They were real." Emma argued. "Look, you just have to trust me on this. Trust that I know what I'm talking about. Regina's back. I don't know how, but I sure as hell know why she's back. Those visions and supposed hallucinations weren't just figments of my imagination. They were _real._ She took Scarlett. And we need to find them before it's too late."

But to her horror, her parents looked skeptical.

"Spit it out." Emma snapped. "Don't just give me that look."

"It's just…how are you so sure? I mean, do you have any evidence?" David asked. Emma started to argue, but he held up his hands defensively. "I know, I know, you have a strong feeling. And you're usually right about things."

"But?" Emma prompted, for she knew what was coming next.

"But it's a little hard to believe." Mary Margaret said softly. "I mean, Regina coming back from the Enchanted Forest? Where it's presumed that there's nothing? That's a little farfetched."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Emma shouted. She stood up, almost knocking over her cup of hot chocolate in the process. "What other evidence do you need? She _tried _to kill me. Did you forget that? She blames me for ruining her life and for _stealing _Henry away!" Emma gestured wildly with her hands. "And now she's back! And she has my daughter! How's that hard to believe?!"

"I know, I know." Mary Margaret said in an attempt to placate her angry daughter. "We want to believe you, we really do. It's just that, after getting so sick, forgetting Scarlett, and being so obsessed with work…"

"Obsessed?" Emma was incredulous "I was trying to solve a murder, not holed up in a basement playing some stupid game. And it was one simple mistake!"

"A mistake that could've had dire consequences." Her father pointed out.

"It was a mistake." Emma repeated. "That _you _would understand if you hadn't shoved me in that wardrobe to suffer by myself for almost thirty years. How could you judge me on _my _supposed bad parenting if you were never parents?!"

Her parents looked hurt. _Good_. Emma thought. _Let them feel bad._

"It's not that we don't want to believe you. But you have to admit that everything seems to point to you."

"I'm your daughter!" Emma screamed. "You're supposed to believe me! Not accuse me of causing my daughter's disappearance." But judging by the looks on her parents' faces, Emma knew that this was hopeless. That she had no one left to count on. "You know what?" She stomped towards the door. "Forget it. This was a mistake."

"Emma!" Mary Margaret cried, but it was too late. Emma was already gone.

~Long Gone~

Emma ran blindly through storm, her tears intermingling with the freezing cold rain dripping down her face. She was soaked through to the skin. But she could barely feel it. She barely knew where she was going, choosing to let her feet guide her and follow her instincts as she ran, away from a place she used to call home. Where she'd had her family.

Family. That was such a twisted, fucked up thing. For all her life, all she'd ever wanted was to find her family. Parents, husband, and eventually kids. As a lonely little foster child sitting in a cold bedroom, listening to her foster parents yell at each other, all she'd ever hoped for was her own family. While most kids her age wanted new toys and gadgets, she'd wished on stray eyelashes, shooting stars, and the rare birthday cake that someday, just someday, she'd have a family and a home to call her own.

In the most twisted, roundabout way, that dream had come true. She'd finally found her parents and formed her own family. It had been the happiest time of her life. For a short while, she believed that happy endings _do _exist, and that all those wishes hadn't been for nothing. Let herself let go and finally be happy. Relax and allow herself to trust others. Form relationships. Stay in one place for more than six months.

But just as she thought her life was finally stable, everything had to come crashing down. Taken away brutally. The worst part was, it wasn't even all Regina's fault. Yes, she was a horrible evil bitch who'd kidnapped her daughter, but it wasn't like she'd made Graham and her parents act like that. They'd chosen to believe that she, Emma, was irresponsible enough to forget her daughter. That she somehow had a hand in her disappearance. They hadn't said it, but Emma got the feeling that they blamed her for Scarlett going missing.

Suddenly, without any warning, Emma tripped over mud puddle and went sprawling, rolling painfully on the ground, finally coming to a stop. She lay on her back on a dirt path. Her ankle throbbed and she knew her arm was bleeding. But she just lay there. What was the point of getting up? Her life was over. Her family hated her and her beloved daughter was gone.

Even Henry, who knew how awful it was to have no one believe you, thought she was crazy. That was probably the bit that hurt the most. Out of everyone, Emma had expected that Henry would be the one to believe her. After all, he'd gone around for months before the curse ended, telling everyone who'd listen about a curse and everyone had just laughed in his face. And then they all found out he was telling the truth all along. Henry, who'd had faith in her even when she didn't believe in herself, had been the first person she truly loved. He'd known her better than she knew herself. And even he didn't believe her.

Emma just lay there, staring up at the dark, almost pitch black sky. But that wasn't even as dark as her emotions were. She felt numb, unable to feel anything, physically and mentally, rendering her unable to cry, to release her pent up emotions from the past few days. She couldn't believe that after all her efforts, she was still alone. Just as alone as she'd been all those years ago. What hurt the most was that they were her family. They were supposed to love her unconditionally and stand by her no matter what happened. Help her in her time of need. But the looks on their faces and the cruel words from their mouths clearly proved otherwise.

Her parents. She thought their relationship was getting better. No longer angry at them for sending her through the wardrobe, Emma actually started to love them. And against her better judgment, she'd let herself fall for Graham. And look at where that had gotten her. No matter how hard she tried, she would forever and always be alone.

So what was the point of trying? She could just lie on this cold, hard ground, feeling the rain pelt her face, and wait to die. Emma blinked up. Through her blurry vision, she could just barely make out trees. She'd always loved the forest. It wouldn't be a bad last thing to see as she departed this Earth.

_You win, Regina._ Emma thought, closing her eyes. It felt so good to just surrender. She was so tired and so sick of everything. _I give up._

Just then, Scarlett's face came to her mind. Her rosy cheeks, her crooked teeth, her sparkly eyes. Her brown curls, and her laugh. The way she reached her arms out for Emma. Her wide smile that never failed to cheer Emma up, no matter how stressed out she was. Someone who Emma worked hard for each and every day of her life to ensure that she would have the best life possible. Someone who Emma would crawl to the ends of the Earth for. And above all, someone who loved her. Loved her no matter how badly she messed up.

Emma's eyes sprang open. No. She couldn't just surrender. She couldn't let Regina win. Couldn't just sit back and let her daughter suffer at the hands of that evil bitch. Scarlett was _her _daughter, and when she was born Emma had promised herself that she would do whatever it took to protect her. And that was exactly what she was going to do.

Heaving herself up, Emma gazed around, familiarizing herself with her surroundings. It looked as though she was in some sort of a forest. She stumbled around in the rain, wishing she'd brought a raincoat or at least an umbrella.

_Alright, focus Emma._ She thought as she looked around, trying to figure out where she was. The first thing she had to do was get out of this forest. As long as she'd lived in Storybrooke, she still wasn't very familiar with it, especially the surrounding forest. The longer she walked around, the more hopeless it became. Trees, trees, and more trees. That was all she saw. Oh yeah, that and the occasional mud puddle. It was so dark she could barely see in front of her. How in the hell had she gotten here in the first place? Emma tried retracing her steps, but she could barely remember which way she'd gone. It occurred to her that it was likely she'd die here if she didn't find her way out.

She tripped again, this time over a tree root, barely breaking her fall with her muddy hands as she crashed into a tree that looked awfully familiar. Just then, she spotted something out of the corner of her eye. It looked like a few scratches on the tree's bark, scratches that didn't quite match the tree's natural marks and pattern. Curiosity got the better of her as she leaned in to get a closer look. The marks were faded, but still looked pretty new, standing out against the tree's marks. It didn't look natural.

A particularly bright flash of lightning lit up the world for a brief moment, long enough for Emma to get a good long look at the tree as she realized what it was. A heart with her and Graham's initials etched inside. Tears welled up in her eyes as she traced their initials. She remembered coming here with Graham, not long after they'd made up. She'd protested that she hated hiking, but he promised it would be amazing. So she went along, complaining most of the way. And when they neared the top of the mountain, he'd blindfolded her, leading her along the path, her filling with trepidation. After what felt like a long, long time, he'd untied the blindfold to reveal a picnic, complete with all her favorite foods. And then he'd got down on one knee and pulled out a ring from his pocket. And asked her to be his forever, saying that she was the only one for him. And she'd let herself completely surrender, as her eyes filled with tears and she was left unable to speak. As they'd made their way back down the mountain, the huge sparkling diamond on her finger, Graham had pulled out his pocketknife and carved their initials into the tree, saying that it would forever be _their _tree_._

She'd thought she finally found love. For a long moment, she allowed herself to miss him, her heart swelling painfully. Oh, how much she loved him. He'd been the first person to ever make her feel things she thought she wouldn't ever experience in her life. The first person she'd let in, romantically, after Neal.

She missed the way he brushed the hair out of her face, the way his adorable accent made everything he said sound ten times better, the way she'd look up while working and see his gaze fixed on her, a gaze filled with pure love and adoration. Above all, she missed the way he made her feel when she was with him, like nothing could go wrong and the world was perfect. Their wedding day and every day after that had been the happiest days of her life.

Maybe they just weren't meant to be. If he could just let her go and believe she was evil enough to cause harm to their daughter, maybe he wasn't the person Emma thought he was. That was what hurt most, knowing that she'd finally let herself be happy, but to have it all crash down around her. For a long moment, she collapsed against the tree, sobbing heavily for everything she'd lost and everything that had gone so terribly wrong. Sobbed until she felt hollow, dry, and empty.

Emma stared at the tree numbly at the tree again, her tears fading as she wiped her eyes on her soaked sleeves. Besides the initials, there was something familiar about the tree. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was some sort of importance relating the tree. And then she knew. Let herself become lost, for a moment, in a beautiful memory.

"_Graham!" Emma protested. "You can't just carve stuff into a tree!" She'd never been one for rules, but it felt unethical to just stick your knife into a tree's surface._

"_Why not?" Graham shrugged adorably as he continued to carve the E in Emma. _

"_Well, cuz…" Emma was at a loss for words. "You just can't." It seemed as though the rock on her finger had taken away all of her usual flippant comments. _

"_There." Graham stepped back to admire his handiwork. "Now this will be our tree. Forever." He lifted her hand to his, kissing it gently. _

"_What's so special about this tree anyway?" Emma ran her hands over the smooth carving, enjoying the way it felt under her palms. "Besides, you know. There are trees everywhere. Why this one?"_

"_Because, love, this tree is halfway between the top of the mountain and the entrance to the forest. If you just follow the path, you'll be able to find your way out. So if you ever get lost, and don't deny that you will, you'll be able to find our tree and your way back. Your way back to me." He said seriously, staring at her with a look of pure love and adoration. _

If what Graham said was true, then this tree was the key outta this place. Taking one last look at the tree, the tree that stood for everything she'd lost, she turned around and followed the path. The path that was the first step to getting her daughter back.

Slowly but surely, the clusters of trees decreased and soon enough, Emma found herself back on the street. Out of the forest. She sighed with relief as she walked back towards town. Now that she was out of that goddamned place, it was time to formulate a plan. What she had to do next was locate Regina. She knew, without a doubt, that Regina was smart. She wouldn't hide in an obvious place, like her old house, especially since it'd turned into a hangout for drunken teenagers on Friday nights. So Emma ruled that out. But where else could Regina be? She had to be somewhere well hidden, but easy enough to find for Emma to locate her.

Emma walked around aimlessly down the street of a quiet neighborhood, trying to figure out the most likely places Regina would be. But there were so many options that it would be impossible to just walk around and search. She'd left her car at Granny's, and if she went back Henry would see her and try to talk and right now she didn't have time for that.

Just then, something caught her eye. It appeared to be some sort of child's toy, snagged on the trellis of an abandoned house. Huh. Funny. It hadn't seemed to be there when she'd passed by that very same house just a minute ago. Emma jogged up to the house and pulled the object out of the trellis. What she saw next made her blood run cold and her heart pound with excitement.

It was Scarlett's teddy bear. It appeared to be intact. Blinking back tears, Emma examined the bear. She knew it was a clue left by Regina. The bitch was clever like that. She saw that the bear held something in its soft arms. She held the bear closer to her face, squinting in the dark to see what it was.

A headstone. The bear held a miniature headstone. Etched with the letters RIP in ornate cursive. Underneath that were the words: Come and find me….

Graveyard. This was obviously an indicator that they were at the mausoleum. With renewed purpose, Emma immediately set off for the graveyard, heading immediately for the mausoleum where Regina's father was buried. Having been here shortly after she'd pushed Regina into the portal, she knew the place like the back of her hand. She expertly pushed aside the casket and headed down the stone steps, walking rapidly towards the mirror door. behind which she knew was a hidden room. Her adrenaline intensified as she neared the door. The door that separated her from her daughter.

She pushed open the mirror door, and gasped out loud. And there she was.

**Author's note: Oooohh cliffhanger! Better review if y'all want the next ch!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: Thank you for all the reviews! Unfortunately, they're not enough. I've lost all motivation and have decided to stop writing. So this will be the last ch of Long Gone. So very sorry but it is what it is :(**

Chapter 12

"Took you long enough." Regina smiled sardonically. She looked like the epitome of an evil queen, sitting regally in a high backed chair, perfectly poised in a dark gray tank dress and black stilettos. "Not up to your usual standards, I'm afraid."

Emma just stood there, panting. She looked like a complete mess next to Regina, with her dripping wet jacket, mud streaked boots, and stringy hair. Her heartbeat raced in her ears, making her head throb. She'd been imagining this for a while now, and she was painfully aware of how outnumbered she was compared to Regina, despite the fact that there weren't any other people in the room.

"I was beginning to think you weren't going to come for your precious daughter." Regina simpered. "Poor little Scarlett, all alone, thinking that her mommy abandoned her just like how her granny abandoned her mom. My my, what a twisted family you have over there."

"Yeah. Thanks to you." Emma snapped. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. "Where's my daughter?" Her voice was low and dangerous.

"Awww, how cute. All defensive. As if you really cared about her. If you paid closer attention to her, you wouldn't have this problem." Regina sneered.

"Like hell that's true." Emma crossed her arms over her chest. "You manipulated all of this."

"Oh, did I now?" Regina faked a look of innocence. "But I don't have any recollection of ever doing so."

"I'm not here to play games, Regina!" Emma shouted. "Where's my daughter?"

"Somewhere safe, where you can't hurt her anymore."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Poor Scarlett." Regina said, getting up from her chair and pacing the room. "All alone, abandoned by her mommy who's supposed to love her the most. Overlooked, while work was chosen over her. Left alone all by herself. It's a good thing we rescued her when we did."

Emma was too angry to notice that Regina said we. "_Rescued _her? You kidnapped my daughter!" It was all she could do to stop herself from lunging at the evil queen. She reminded herself that she was horribly overpowered, since Regina had magic.

"Kidnapped?" Regina laughed meanly. "Why, that makes me sound so…evil." She continued to pace. "It's not like I, I don't know, killed Archie to keep you busy while haunting you and making you seem crazy. Oh, wait, that's right. I did." Her bloodred lips curved into a leer.

"Wait. What?" Emma clutched the wall for support, feeling dizzy of a sudden. "That's why you killed him?

"That's right." Regina picked up a mini statue of a glass swan on her fireplace and admired it.

"Why?" That was the one word throbbing through Emma's mind. "Why?"

Regina shrugged casually, as if they were talking about the weather. "I needed someone who had dirt on all the info in town. Someone who wouldn't be missed. Something to keep you occupied. It was rather well executed, I daresay."

"So you, what, killed Archie just to get to me?" Emma asked, stunned. "Why hurt someone innocent?"

"I was bored. It was fun. Do the math." Regina shrugged again.

"Y-you're sick." Emma's fists curled tightly. "Do you even know all the damage you've caused?"

"Me?" Regina placed her hand on her chest, fake offended. "Me." She said, suddenly angry. "How dare you have the nerve to blame _me_ when _you're _the one who's caused all the trouble?! You _ruined _my life." Something dark shifted in her eyes as she glared at Emma.

"Still painting yourself as the victim, I see." Emma snapped. "Hasn't it ever occurred to you that everything that's happened was your fault? Henry chose _me._ Graham chose _me._ Nobody loves you, Madam Mayor. You're a sick psycho who's incapable of doing anything except hurting the people around you. You say I ruined your life? Well maybe you ruined it all on your own. You certainly can't love and can't expect that people will love _you._"

"Funny you should say that." Regina rolled her eyes. "I sure do remember those awful words your family said to you. And you thought they loved you." She clucked her tongue fake sympathetically. "Poor little orphan Emma. Unloved by her parents, her husband, and now her kids."

"That's only because you manipulated everything!" Emma roared.

"On the contrary, my dear, all I did was expose their true feelings about _you_." Regina replied. "I particularly enjoyed the part where even Henry didn't believe you."

Emma didn't say anything, for the evil queen's words had a ring of truth in it.

Regina continued, walking in a slow circle around the seething Emma. "Oh, don't look so sad, dear." She simpered. "I'm sure Scarlett did love you, until you forgot all about her."

"I would never forget my daughter!"

"Just love how you're so sure about that." Regina sneered. "Who was the one who left poor Scarlett all alone in that big apartment? Oh wait. That was you. I'm the one who _rescued _her, took her home, fed her, made her happy. I make a good mother, if I do say so myself."

"You will never be Scar's mother."

"Au contraire." Regina countered. "Scarlett loves _me _now. She's even calling me mommy."

Emma's heart broke at the sound of those words. She tried to tell herself that Regina was just bluffing. "That's not true."

"Is it?" Regina waved her hand, and Scarlett appeared. She wore the same nightgown like in Emma's vision back in Granny's.

"Scar!" Emma cried with relief at the sight of her daughter. "Oh, honey. You're ok." She held out her arms for the toddler, just like how she did everyday at home, but to her horror, Scarlett's face darkened at the sight of her mother and turned towards Regina instead, reaching her arms out.

"Mamaaaa!" Scarlett cried, cooing happily as Regina held _Emma's_ daughter close. "I wuv you mama."

"No!" Emma cried as Regina tickled _her _daughter. "Scarlett!"

"See?" Regina smiled. "Scarlett's forgotten all about you." She set Scarlett down on the floor, and she toddled away without a second glance at Emma.

And just like that, Emma saw red and she lunged straight at Regina. The evil queen, though taken aback at first, recovered nicely and easily threw Emma aside to the floor. She landed with a hard thump on her back near the fireplace. Everything hurt, but years of practice had prepared her for this. She quickly got back up, pulling out her gun and aiming it straight at Regina.

"How stupid." Regina mocked as the two women circled each other. "You think that's going to protect you." With a flick of her hand, the gun disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.

It was very exhausting, fighting against Regina, since she had magic while Emma did not. Emma found herself whirling around in circles and clawing at the air in frustration as Regina disappeared seconds before Emma could hit her.

"Regina!" Emma cried angrily as the evil queen disappeared and reappeared across the room for what felt like the hundredth time. The brunette waved mockingly and then vanished in a puff of purple smoke yet again. "Stop being such a coward and hiding behind your magic!"

"Gladly." Regina said from directly behind Emma as knocked her on the back of her head, hard. Emma fell forwards on her face, her knees slipping on the hard marble floor. Before she could get up again, Regina grabbed her ankle and sent her sliding across the room, slamming into the wall. Emma leaped to her feet, wiping the blood off her busted lip. Regina stood across the room, waving with a smirk on her face. With a guttural growl, she ran straight at Regina again, but the evil queen disappeared and Emma just hit the wall.

"Yoohoo, over here." Regina said from across the room. Yet again, Emma missed her by seconds, hitting the wall.

"Miss me?" Regina snapped as she slammed into Emma from behind again. But this time, Emma was ready as she instinctively elbowed Regina's stomach, spinning around and wrestling her to the ground while punching every bit of the evil queen that she could find, sinking her fist into Regina's stomach repeatedly. She could barely feel Regina's fists hitting her jaw and pulling at her hair so hard it brought tears to her eyes. All she could think about, all she could see as they grappled on the floor was Scarlett. How Scarlett had called Regina mommy. How Scarlett's face had darkened when she saw Emma. How Scarlett, her daughter, had chosen _Regina _over Emma. Did 2 years of trying so hard to be a good mother mean nothing? For the first time, Emma caught a glimpse of how Regina must've felt when Henry chose her.

Just then, Emma noticed that Regina had stopped struggling. She just lay there, limp on the floor, blood gushing from a broken nose, a dark bruise blooming on her forehead. Emma sat back on her heels, panting. Had she really just won? It felt too easy. Slowly, she got to her feet, noting how everything hurt. Taking one last glance at Regina, who still lay on the floor, she tiptoed towards the hallway. She knew she didn't have much time, since Regina was most likely unconscious, not dead.

As quietly as she could, Emma crept down the dark hallway, checking in each doorway for her daughter. The plan was to grab Scarlett and get the hell out of here. But each room was empty. She quickly reached the end of the hall. There was only one door left. It was closed. Praying hard, she pushed open the heavy wooden door.

Much to her relief, she saw her white nightgowned daughter. But…there were two Scarletts. One wore the white nightgown from earlier and her vision. One wore purple footie pajamas and had her thumb in her mouth. Emma whipped her head back and forth, trying to make sense of this. Two Scarletts?

"Mommy!" The Scarlett in purple footies ran straight towards Emma, unsteady on her little toddler legs, as she reached her arms out for her mother. "Mamaaaa!" She squealed. Emma stared hesitantly. There was something terribly wrong here, but she wasn't sure what. While the purple pajamaed Scarlett continued to reach towards Emma, the one in the white nightgown and headband started crying at the sight of Emma. The purple pajamaed Scarlett reached Emma, hugging her mother around her legs. Emma reached down and picked her up, still staring at the other Scarlett. The Scarlett in her arms smelled exactly like her daughter, a mix of baby powder and Graham's woodsy scent. The other one smelled like rose perfume. And then she knew. _The white nightgowned Scarlett was a fake._

"Scar!" Emma buried her face in her daughter's hair, breathing in her familiar scent. Tears of joy rolled down her cheeks as they embraced, Emma completely losing sense of where she was. Standing with her back to the door, she didn't hear the high heeled footsteps behind her until it was too late.

"I'll take her back, thanks." A woman's voice said from the doorway. Emma felt the hair on her back stand up as she spun around in horror. An older looking brunette who looked like Regina stood in the doorway, a cruel smirk on her beautiful face.

"Over my dead body." Emma snapped.

"Well, if that's the case then…" The older woman shrugged.

_Shit. I have to get out of here._ Emma thought frantically.

Cold fear gripped her body as Emma quickly assessed the situation. There was a small, high window that she could probably shimmy her way out. But she had to keep the woman distracted. She spotted a small wooden chair nearby. That could serve as a weapon, right? All she had to do was throw the chair at the woman and then climb the wall towards the window. While simultaneously keeping her grip on Scarlett.

But before she could put her plan into action, someone stepped into the doorframe. Regina. The bruises had faded and her nose looked new.

"Thought you'd killed me, didn't you?" Regina rolled her eyes. "Stupid, stupid Emma."

_Stupid Emma indeed. _Emma mentally kicked herself. She was terribly outnumbered, for Regina had magic and the older woman most likely did as well. Emma's eyes jumped from the window to the two women again.

"That's right, dear. There's no way out." The older woman laughed, sounding a hell of a lot like Regina, while Regina smirked and cracked her knuckles. They were advancing on her, dark eyes gleaming with hatred, arms reaching out hungrily for her baby. Emma instinctively held her daughter closer to her. She could feel Scar trembling with fear.

"Regina. Don't do this." Emma begged. "Think about the consequences. Henry will never forgive you."

Something primal and dangerous shifted within the depths of Regina's eyes. "Don't you dare speak to me about Henry!" She screamed, causing Scar to start crying. "You took him away from me! He was _my son! _And you _stole _him! Made him hate me!" She lost all control as she pulled on her hair; she looked quite mad. "And you _will _pay!"

"That's quite enough, dear." The older woman placed her arm on Regina's arm. Regina took a deep breath and seemed to calm down.

_Dear? Was that woman Regina's…mother?_

"Goodbye, Emma Swan." The older woman said quietly as she and Regina raised their arms at the same time.

Several things happened simultaneously. Emma felt Scar being ripped from her arms as her world began to darken. She struggled to keep her hold on her daughter as white hot pain filled her body, rendering her unable to breath. The last thing she saw before she surrendered to the blackness was Regina and her mother's bone chillingly cruel sneers. And all that was left behind was a leather jacket, fluttering to the floor, staining the once spotless marble floor a deep crimson.

**Author's note: APRIL FOOLS! DID U REALLY THINK I WAS GONNA ABANDON THIS AMAZING STORY THAT ALL YOU AMAZING READERS LOVE?! (admit it, for a second there y'all thought i was being serious) REVIEW PLZ! You know you wanna :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's note: HAHAHAHAHA REALLY GOT U THERE W MY AMAZINGLY CLEVER APRIL FOOLS JOKE DIDNT I? Anyway, thanks for all the reviews!**

**Just keep this in mind-y'all know that i never end stories with an unhappy ending :P**

Chapter 13

Bang bang bang! A series of frantic knocks on the heavy wooden door woke Graham up with a start. He jumped horribly, spilling a cup of lukewarm coffee all over his already dirty shirt. He sighed and then threw the half empty cup over his shoulder, where it shattered into a million pieces on the wood floor. The once comfortably apartment had turned into a complete pigsty. Once upon a time, Graham had made somewhat of an effort to keep things neat, but now all he focused on was finding Scarlett. Piles of Missing posters littered the floor, while lists of suspects and maps of Storybrooke were pinned to the wall. There was a clear inch of dust over most of the shelves, and stacks of unwashed dishes sat in random places. He wore the same dirty clothes from last week and hadn't bothered to shave since Emma left. What was the point, anyway?

Graham closed his eyes, willing whoever it was to go away. It was 7 in the morning and was in no mood to see people. All he did nowadays was hide out in the apartment, poring over his work. He may have been fired, but he still had 28 years of sheriff skills.

The knocking grew increasingly louder. It reverberated throughout the apartment, making Graham's head throb. It sounded like someone was banging a loud drum.

"Go away!" He called. "I'm not buying!" Who sold cookies on a Sunday anyway?

"It's me." Came a familiar voice. Henry. Graham immediately shot up. Ever since Emma left, he hadn't seen Henry, probably because he knew Emma wouldn't allow it. Other than a few quick phone calls, he and Henry hadn't had any contact. So if Henry was coming by now, something was wrong.

He crossed the room to the door, imagining all sorts of horrible scenarios: Emma dead, Scarlett dead…he shook his head to clear his mind from those awful images. "Henry?" He opened the door.

Henry immediately pushed past him and stepped into the apartment. "Something's wrong…oh wow. What happened here?" He looked around, momentarily distracted. "Just wait till Mom sees this." He started down the hall, peeking into the rooms.

"Never mind that." Graham impatiently. "Is everything ok? Emma and all?"

Henry stopped short. "Wait, so Mom's not here?"

"No…" Graham scratched his head in confusion. "Isn't she at Granny's with you?"

Henry's widened his eyes in horror as he realized that in fact Emma wasn't there. Without another word, he dashed out the open door and downstairs to his grandparents' apartment.

"Henry! Wait!" Graham chased after him.

But Henry didn't stop; he sprinted to his grandparents' door and started banging frantically, not unlike the way he'd banged on Graham's door, until it was opened by a sleepy looking Mary Margaret.

"Henry?" Her confusion was apparent on her face. "Is everything ok?"

"No!" Henry pushed past her into the apartment. Graham shrugged apologetically at Mary Margaret and followed suit.

"Mom's missing." Henry announced. Immediately, Graham felt as if he the wind had been knocked out of him, like someone had taken a baseball bat to his gut. Missing? Emma? No. There was no way that was possible.

"_Missing?_" David echoed, instantly going into protective father mode. "What do you mean?"

"We got into a fight last night and she walked out. I thought she'd be back this morning but she's not." Henry explained. "Her stuff is still there and everything. And she didn't answer her phone."

"She came here last night." Mary Margaret said. "At around…1 am?" She looked at her husband for confirmation, who nodded.

"But she left soon after." David added. He looked as sick and exhausted as Graham felt. "We…had a fight too."

"Let me guess. About Regina?" Henry asked. His grandparents nodded, ducking their heads guiltily.

"So she left." Mary Margaret said, trying to work everything out. "She left Granny's, came here, and then left again." She tilted her head, thinking. "How do we know she's not just taking a walk?"

"For six hours?" Graham said skeptically. "Look, I know Emma. She wouldn't just pick up and leave like that."

"She's done it before though." David pointed out. "Though she came back. Maybe she got a lead on Scarlett's whereabouts?"

"I know her." Graham argued. "This isn't like her." He started pacing around the room. "She may hate me, but she wouldn't just leave Henry."

"Graham's right." Henry piped in. "Mom wouldn't do that. Something's wrong, I can feel it."

"Well, we shouldn't panic." Mary Margaret said. "You know, maybe we're all wrong." She said hopefully. "Let's split up to look for her."

"I'll take Granny's and the station." David volunteered. "Henry, you stay here. Keep trying her cell."

"I'll check the toll bridge and hospital." Mary Margaret added.

Graham nodded. "And I'll check the forest." He didn't know why, but he had a strong feeling that the forest had something to do with Emma's whereabouts.

"Ok. Everyone, keep your phones on and meet back here in two hours." David commanded. "Call immediately if you find anything."

~Long Gone~

Graham set off for the forest, keeping his eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. Luckily, he knew the forest like the back of his hand, so it was no trouble at all. As he walked on autopilot, letting his feet direct him, his mind wandered around, imagining all sorts of horrible scenarios.

It was bad enough that Scarlett had disappeared, but now Emma? He missed her so bad he could barely breathe. Ever since she'd left, he'd slept on the couch, unable to face that empty bedroom. He didn't even know how he'd managed to survive so long without Emma. Life without her was empty and meaningless.

He missed everything about her. The cute way she wrinkled her nose, how amazing she was with Scarlett; her Emma scent, a sweet mixture of coconut and something that could only be described as Emma, the way she'd shove him when he told one of his lame jokes, her fiery determination with everything, the way she made everything feel better. The list went on and on. Most of all, he missed her laugh. It lit up his entire world. _She _lit up his entire world.

_Oh, Emma._ He thought to himself as he walked on. _I don't care if you hate me. I just want you safe. _

Suddenly, he found himself staring straight at a tree. _Their _tree. He just stared at it, tracing his fingers over their initials, mentally reliving the events of that fateful day. It had taken so much planning; he'd secretly asked Henry and her parents what her favorite foods and things were. When they'd reached the top of the mountain, his hands were trembling so much he could barely hold the ring steady. And when she said yes, well that was the happiest day of his life. The day he knew for sure that he was never alone, that life would forever and always be perfect.

As he stared at the tree, he wondered if Emma was in fact telling the truth. Yes, it did seem a little farfetched that the evil queen could be back, but he knew Emma. Knew that she wouldn't lie about something like that, especially when it came to their daughter. And coupled with the fact that she was currently missing, he had a strong inkling that something was terribly wrong here.

Graham reluctantly broke away from the tree, knowing full well that just sitting there staring at it wouldn't help. He walked on, carefully observing his surroundings. He noticed that a nearby tree root was scuffed. He carefully examined it, noting that the ground around it was marked up as well with what appeared to be boot prints. Concluding that Emma had been there, he followed the boot prints.

Just then, he spotted something silver. It glinted in the morning sun, peeking up from the dirt path. He bent over and picked it up. It was an earring. On closer inspection, Graham realized that it was one of Emma's earrings, for he recognized the familiar silver stud. It was a pair that she wore every day, earrings that he'd actually given her not long ago. This proved that these had been Emma's footprints.

They led back to their tree and then towards the forest's entrance. He continued to follow the prints out of the forest and onto the main road. Luckily, it had been rainy, so the prints were muddy and fairly easy to track. They led into a random neighborhood. According to the boot prints, Emma had walked up and down this street several times, before veering off onto a random house. Then the prints grew farther and farther apart, probably a result of her running. He followed her boot print path, which abruptly stopped at the entrance to the graveyard.

Graveyard? Why would Emma go there? But he knew his (hopefully not soon to be ex) wife well enough to know that she had a knack for following her instincts, which were almost always right. So he cautiously walked around the freshly mown grass, keeping his eye out for anything suspicious. But there was nothing. His eyes landed on the mausoleum where he knew Regina had kept his heart. If Emma had followed her hunch about Regina to the graveyard, then it would make sense for her to go inside the imposing stone building.

He walked inside, keeping his eyes peeled for any signs. He easily navigated the mausoleum's interior, having been there before. Not long later, he reached a strange looking mirror door looking thing. Cautiously, he pushed it open, preparing himself for what was inside.

Nothing. There was nobody there. Another silver stud glinted up at him from the doorway, and he picked it up. Emma had definitely been here. He stepped inside the room, noting the toppled furniture, inevitably signs of a struggle. He tiptoed around, down a dark hallway.

And then he saw it. It made him gasp aloud. There, lying in the middle of a floor in a dark room, was Emma's leather jacket, stained a dark red. He bent over and picked it up, catching a huge whiff of rose perfume, gasping aloud when he realized that it was covered in blood. On the floor where the jacket lay was a huge puddle of even more dried blood.

No. It couldn't be. But all the signs were there.

Emma was dead. By Regina's hand.

**Author's note: Cliffhanger again! Y'all know what that means...REVIEW ASAP FOR THE NEXT CH! 10 reviews and i will update by monday!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's note: Thanks for all the reviews!**

Chapter 14

The funeral was scheduled for the following week. A body was never found, but Emma was presumed dead. No one could bleed that much and still be alive. A true testament to Emma's popularity, the entire town of Storybrooke came to the funeral. It was the 2nd funeral they'd had in such a short time, the first being Archie's.

Graham walked alongside Emma's parents, feeling numb. Beside him, Henry sniffled occasionally, not willing to betray his emotions in front of the whole town. In Graham's arms was a simple white box that held the blood stained leather jacket. It was to be buried in lieu of Emma's body.

He walked on, staring straight ahead. Ever since he'd found the jacket, he'd barely said anything. Hadn't been able to eat or sleep or even cry. He'd turned into a zombie, sitting silently at the kitchen table, making funeral arrangements. The exact opposite of Mary Margaret, who could barely contain her tears.

He felt his heart clench painfully as he recalled the day he'd found the jacket. The day he'd come to the realization that Emma Swan was dead. That it was partially his fault.

"_I found something." Graham said simply into his phone. He didn't have the heart to tell Emma's parents over the phone the truth. _

"_Where?" David asked urgently. _

"_Mausoleum." Graham answered simply. _

"_I'll be there right away." They hung up. _

_Graham sat with his back to the cold, stone wall, his heart thumping nervously at the prospect of Emma's parents' reactions. They had every right to blame him. _

_They arrived fifteen minutes later, fearing the worst. One look at Graham's face and Mary Margaret burst into tears, burying her face in her husband's arm. _

"_Where is she?" David asked, taking in the stained jacket and pool of blood. "Where's Emma?" His voice broke at the word Emma. _

"_I don't know." Graham replied. "All I found was this." _

"_No!" Mary Margaret wailed as she took in the jacket. "No! Emma!" She collapsed on the ground, sobbing as she pounded on the ground. "Emma!" _

_David's jaw tightened and Graham could see tears forming in his eyes. "Regina." He said, and Graham nodded. _

"_I'm sorry." Graham said. _

"_What for?" Mary Margaret looked up through her tears. "This wasn't your fault."_

"_It was." Graham sighed. "If I'd believed her…"_

_David placed his hand on Graham's shoulder. "We're just as to blame as you are." He said heavily._

_Worst of all was telling Henry that his mother was dead. _

_"Well? D-did you find her?" He asked, leaping up eagerly from the kitchen table. But one look at the grief torn faces of his grandparents and stepdad and he seemed to crumple. _

_"N-no." His voice trembled. "No!" He looked wildly from each face. "NO!" _

_"I'm sorry Henry." Mary Margaret placed her hand on his shoulder, but he shrank away._

_"No!" He cried. "She's not dead." _

_But his family's faces confirmed the awful truth. And since then, Henry had retreated into himself, barely saying two words to anyone. _

_No matter how hard they'd searched for the body, it was nowhere to be found. Eventually, they'd come to the conclusion that Regina had taken the body, probably using it for her own sick purposes, and left the jacket as an indicator. It sickened Graham that Regina had his wife's body and that it would never have a proper burial, but what else could they do? Mary Margaret had suggested burying Emma's jacket, since it was all that was left of her and her jacket was her favorite article of clothing. _

"Graham." A small hand on his shoulder stopped him. "We're here." Henry said quietly. They'd reached the freshly dug grave.

"Right." Graham said, running his hands through his hair. Briefly, he noted that it would've been a good idea to shower and shave before coming to the funeral, but he hadn't been able to bring himself to do so.

"Thank you for coming here today." David began shakily as everyone gathered around the grave. "To honor the life of Emma Swan."

As David spoke, Graham wandered off towards the back of the crowd. He had to be alone, unable to face anyone.

"Emma was a beloved daughter, mother, and wife." Mary Margaret said, her voice shaking as she clung to her husband for support. "She defended everyone, helped people to the best of her ability, and saved this town from a horrible curse. Don't let her death be in vain. As you walk away, remember Emma Swan, a true hero." She started sobbing openly, practically collapsing with grief.

"And now, we'll have a few words from Emma's husband, Graham." Mary Margaret said. Immediately, people began turning towards him. "Graham?" She gestured for him to come up.

Oh no. Graham had been dreading this. He knew it was the right thing to do, seeing as he was her husband, but he had no idea what to say. He'd tried to plan a speech multiple times, but ended up crumpling it up every time. He walked up slowly, his heart pounding in trepidation.

"Um…hi." He began awkwardly. All around him, he could see the sympathetic faces of Storybrooke's inhabitants. He looked out into the distance, squinting at what looked like a big duck, or maybe a swan, about a hundred feet away, staring straight at him. He shook his head; it was probably just the lack of sleep talking. "T-thanks for coming today. It really means a lot to me. To Emma." He winced at how pathetic his speech was compared to Mary Margaret's. He looked up again, and the duck was gone.

"I, um, don't really know what to say." He laughed nervously. "Didn't have a speech prepared. Not really good at this sort of thing. So, I guess everyone knew Emma as just the sheriff. Someone who broke the curse. But she was more than that." He paused. "She didn't just break the curse. She gave everyone their lives back. Saved everyone from an eternity of hell. So I would like everyone to remember that. Remember that Emma saved everyone single last one of you out there and gave you back your memories. Memories of loved ones. Gave you back your families. She spent a lifetime searching for her family, and when she finally got it, she was murdered. By Regina."

Though they'd agreed to wait till later to tell everyone about Regina, Graham couldn't help but blurt it out. They needed to know. As predicted, everyone broke into chaos, whispering amongst themselves and looking around nervously.

"Settle down, everyone." David held up a hand, looking every bit like the prince he was. "We are working out a plan to deal with this." He gave Graham a look. "Now is not the time to be discussing this."

Slowly, everyone quieted.

"So just remember that." Graham finished. He had plenty to say about Regina, but David was right. Now was not the time. "Remember how quickly everything you love can be torn away. When you remember Emma, don't just remember her as the curse breaker. Honor her memory by holding onto everything you hold dear for as long as you can."

~Long Gone~

Several hours after the funeral ended, Graham crept back to the graveyard. In his arms was a huge bouquet of baby carnations, Emma's favorite flowers.

He slowly approached Emma's grave, which was surrounded by handmade cards and bunches of flowers, all from Storybrooke's inhabitants paying their last respects.

"Hey, Em." He kneeled down slowly, placing the floors down on the hard earth. "Brought you flowers." He hovered nervously, not really sure what one said to a grave.

He didn't say anything for a while, just sat there and listened to the whistle of the wind in the trees.

"I'm sorry." He blurted suddenly. "I'm so sorry that I didn't believe you. That I accused you of causing Scarlett's disappearance. I should've known better."

"I miss you so much already, Em." Tears started pouring down his cheeks, releasing his pent up emotions from the past several days. "Without you and Scar…I don't what I'm gonna do. You probably hate me right now, and I don't blame you at all. I hate myself too. I just can't believe I let Regina's manipulation get to me once again…" He paused, overcome with tears.

"You've made my life so much better. Made it worth living. Every day I wake up, I think to myself how l lucky I was that you picked me. That out of everyone in this town, Emma Swan picked _me, _a mere Huntsman. Someone Regina used purely for her entertainment.

"I love you, Em. So, so much. More than you'll ever know. You've taught me so much, about family, love, and so much more. I owe you everything. You made me the happiest man on Earth. You know, before I met you, even before Regina, I was never really able to feel anything. But you came along and changed that. You fixed me. Gave me something I never thought I'd have. A family. And I know I've said this already but I'm so, so sorry. If I'd just believed you, none of this would've happened. I deserve to die. But I won't let your death be in vain. I promise I'll find out what happened." Graham stood up. "I'm going to find Scarlett. And I'm going to protect her." He said firmly. "Even if it's the last thing I do."

~Long Gone~

Shyly, Henry approached his mother's grave. The sight of it was so unreal. Just last week, he and Emma had been together. He remembered everything about his mother, from the way she rolled her eyes at him to the way she ruffled his hair and called him kid. His mother, someone he'd spent so long searching for, was dead.

He remembered the last time Regina had gotten to her. How hopeless it'd felt. But it was nothing compared to now, since last time Emma hadn't actually been dead. Not like now. He kneeled down in front of the headstone. It was engraved simply with Emma Swan. Nobody really knew when she was born (thanks to the curse), just that it was roughly 31 years ago, or when exactly she'd died.

He reached out and touched the cool, smooth stone. "Hi Mom." He said, his voice wavering. All day, he'd been trying to hold back his tears. He didn't want to appear weak in front of the town. He didn't need their sympathy. But now, it was just him.

Tears began rolling down his cheeks as he sat there, hugging the cold headstone. He knew it was ridiculously inappropriate, but he didn't care. It was that he had left of his mother. Emma had left him nothing.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. "I should've believed you. I've always believed in you. If I did this wouldn't have happened. I know you're not crazy. I should've known that it was Regina. I even had a feeling it was her. But I didn't want to believe it. Believe that she was back."

"I miss you, Mommy." He said. He hated how babyish he sounded. He'd never called Emma Mommy. It was either Mom or Emma. But he couldn't help it. He felt so alone, now that both his parents were dead. Yes, Graham was still technically his stepfather. Yes, he still had his grandparents. But it wasn't the same. There was a hole in his heart that would never be filled.

Just then, what looked like a big white duck came waddling up to him on its short legs. On a closer look, he realized it was actually a swan. It came up to him and started poking at his side with its long beak.

"Go away." He said, wanting nothing more than to be alone. Alone in his misery.

But the swan continued to pester him. Henry was a bit of an animal freak so he knew that due to the swan's slender neck, it was a female.

"Go away." He repeated. The swan ignored him and continued to peck at his side. Judging by the swan's nervous body language, something was wrong.

"What's wrong?" He turned his attention to the obviously troubled swan. "Are you lost?" He was glad for the momentary distraction from his grief. He knew that swans usually lived in water, not graveyards. "How did you end up here?"

Cautiously, he reached out and stroked its long neck. The swan seemed to like this, for she stepped closer and nuzzled against him. Despite his grief, Henry started to laugh.

"Stop!" He said. "Or else I'll want to keep you as a pet!"

The swan continued to nuzzle him. She seemed to enjoy his company, for she made a honking noise that sounded like a laugh.

"Come on." Henry said, standing up. "Let me take you home." He started to lead the swan away, but suddenly she grew agitated.

"What's wrong?" Henry asked, confused. "Don't you want to go home?" He watched as the swan started to paw at the ground with her short little legs. There was something so familiar about her, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Slowly, he bent down. "Come on." He said. "I have to take you home. I'm sure your family misses you."

At the word family, the swan suddenly went crazy, flying around and making all sorts of honking noises. If the swan could talk, Henry imagined it'd say something along the lines of: oh kid, you have no idea.

"Ok, ok!" He cried. "Calm down."

The swan glared at him as if to say, don't tell me to calm down.

"But you have to go back." He coaxed. "Your kids are bound to miss you. Just like how I miss…" His voice broke and tears started falling again. "Never mind."

Slowly, the swan stepped closer to him and attempted to wipe away his tears with her wings. It was such a loving, tender gesture that Henry melted and threw his arms around her slender neck, sobbing openly, missing his mother all over again.

"Sorry." He looked at the swan again, who reached out with a long wing and stroked his hair slowly. It felt so achingly familiar.

Henry pulled away and looked into her eyes. And then he knew.

"Mom?"

**Author's note: REVIEW FOR THE NEXT CH! **


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's note: Thanks to Dr. Mois for the idea for this ch!**

Chapter 15

(Several hours before the funeral)

Emma opened her eyes with a start. Where in the hell was she? The last thing she remembered she was in Regina's underground hideout with Scarlett.

Oh God. Scarlett. She had to save her daughter. Emma tried moving her arms and legs, but she couldn't even feel them. Her legs felt shorter than usual and they were tucked under her but she couldn't straighten them out. Instantly, she started to panic. What had Regina done to her?

She looked around, blinking to clear her blurry vision as she took in her surroundings. It was bright out, and it looked as though she was though she was surrounded by trees. Emma discerned that she was outside. She looked around, noting that she was in the water. Maybe Regina dumped her on a boat? She tried to swivel her head around, but her neck felt heavy. Actually, it felt much longer than normal.

Emma looked down, taking in her white feathers and body. She had long, white wings. She tried to say something, anything, but all that came out was a long honking sound.

She was a swan.

~Long Gone~

"Do people honestly think food's gonna help?" Mary Margaret groused as she attempted to rearrange the contents of their refrigerator to fit all the casseroles and desserts that Storybrooke's residents had dropped off at their apartment earlier. "Not like it's gonna bring her back." She muttered, mostly to herself.

Graham didn't say anything. Instead, he stared morosely at a random spot on the wall while he gulped down his fifth Jack Daniels of the day. The alcohol burned his throat and made his eyes water, but it felt good to feel something for once. He would've preferred to be back at his apartment but Mary Margaret and David had insisted that he shouldn't be alone. Despite Emma's parents' insistence that it hadn't been his fault, he couldn't help but feel responsible. You could argue that Mary Margaret and David hadn't known their daughter well enough to believe her, but Graham hadn't had that excuse. He knew that besides Henry, he was the one person on Earth who truly knew her. Knew her enough to read the hidden meanings between her every word and body movement. And yet he'd failed her so terribly.

"Where's Henry?" David asked as he took a seat next to Graham at the table. He looked sick and exhausted, like he'd aged fifteen years overnight. Ever since they'd figured out it was Regina who'd killed Emma, their protection on Henry had increased fifteen times.

"He said he had to run an errand." Mary Margaret called from the kitchen. "As much I love Granny's burgers, I really didn't need five containers of them." She commented as she stacked dishes on the kitchen counter.

"Whoa, easy there." David said as he noticed the empty bottles lined up on the table in front of a very drunk Graham.

Graham just burped in response. "Whatever."

"Do you think you're setting a good example for Henry being drunk off your ass?" David said angrily as he attempted to swipe the bottle away from Graham, but the Huntsman just held it out of reach.

"Leave me alone." He moaned miserably.

David looked like he was about to say something, but there was a frantic knocking on the door. Throwing Graham a withering glare, he stood up to answer the door. Fully expecting another Storybrooke resident with either more food or worries about Regina, he stopped short at the sight of Henry. But that wasn't the weird part, for right behind Henry was a large female swan.

"Um, Henry?" David asked as his grandson walked breezily through the open door, the swan following close behind.

"Yes?" He asked nonchalantly.

"I get that you're all about saving animals, but we are not keeping that as a pet." Mary Margaret said, stepping out from the kitchen.

"I know." Henry answered.

"Then take that thing back where it belongs." David ordered.

"That _thing _that you're referring to is your daughter." Henry answered flippantly, gazing up at his grandparents.

"What?" Came the collective gasps from the three adults in the room.

"You heard me." Henry said. "This is Emma." He gestured to the swan, who glared up at them.

"That's a swan." Mary Margaret shook her head.

"And Emma's dead." David said firmly. "Henry, I get that you're tired and it's been a long day. But you can't just bring home large animals and call them your mother. We are taking this thing back to where it belongs and that's final."

"Just listen to me!" Henry pleaded.

"Fine." His grandparents crossed their arms over their chests. Graham just stared off into the distance.

"Ok so I was at the graveyard…

"_Mom?" He said softly. "I-is that you?" He'd asked. He knew how stupid this was, but he couldn't shake the overwhelming feeling that this swan was his mother. From the tender way she'd looked at him to the way she'd ruffled his hair, it was just so unmistakably Emma. Besides, how many swans would go around treating random kids like their offspring? This swan had been so humanlike._

_A single tear made its way down from her eye. The swan nodded slowly. _

"_B-but…how?" Henry gasped. "Y-you're supposed to be dead!" _

_The swan shook her head. She bent down and started scratching at the ground with her long beak. _

"_What're you doing?" Henry asked as he watched the swan/maybe his mother paw at the ground with her beak. When she finished, she stepped back and stared at him expectantly, gesturing at the ground in front of her with her beak. _

_Henry peered at the ground. At first, it just looked like scratches but as he stared, he realized that it was actually shaky letters traced on the ground. Letters that spelled out the word REGINA. _

"_Regina did this?" Henry realized. The swan nodded and cocked her head to the side as if to say now do you believe me? It was such an Emma move that in that moment, Henry had no choice but to believe that this swan was really and truly his mother. _

"_Oh Mom." He threw his arms around the swan's neck, sobbing with relief and happiness. "I'm so glad you're alive." Gently, the swan patted his neck with her long wings as if to say it's ok. _

_After a long moment, they broke apart. _

"_How did you find me?" He asked. It was so weird, talking to a swan._

_The swan gave him a look that Henry took to mean: How do you think? I'm your mother._

"_So I'm guessing that Regina faked your death and turned you into a swan?" Henry surmised. The swan nodded in agreement. She looked visibly agitated that she couldn't communicate with words._

"_I'm sorry." Henry said guiltily as he took in his mother's new, feathered body. "This is all my fault." He looked down miserably. "If I'd believed you then you would've have left." _

_The swan shook her head vigorously, making some honking noises in the process. If she could speak, Henry imagined she would say something along the lines of how it wasn't his fault._

"_But it is." He argued. "I should've believed you! You believed in me!" _

_The swan gave him a look as if to say: not right away. _

"_True." Henry said. "Don't worry. We're gonna fix this." He said confidently. _

"So…you expect us to believe that this swan is Emma based on some drawings she made on the ground with her beak?" Mary Margaret stared at her grandson in disbelief.

The swan made a loud screeching noise and stomped her webbed foot on the ground.

"See?" Henry laughed. "That's classic Emma!"

"Henry." David placed his hands on his grandson's shoulders and kneeled down to his height. "I get that the past several weeks have been very stressful. But you have to admit that this quite ridiculous. This swan is not your mother." He gestured at the great white bird. "This is just a swan who thinks you're one of her babies."

"No!" Henry broke away from his grandparents and stood protectively next to the swan. "Do you remember what happened last time you didn't believe me? I was right! And what about Emma? You all didn't believe her and look what happened!" He cried. "This is Emma! I can feel it!"

"Graham…" David looked at the ex Huntsman for help.

"Henry, you're hallucinating." Graham pointed a shaky finger out at a general direction. "Listen to your mother and put on a sweater." He burped loudly; he was completely incoherent.

David threw up his hands in frustration. He turned to his wife for support. "Mary Margaret? Back me up on this."

But Mary Margaret was staring thoughtfully at the swan. "I don't know. There _is _something familiar about her…"

"You've got to be kidding me." David groused. "Don't tell me you're falling for this nonsense too."

Mary Margaret ignored her husband and crossed the room, kneeling down to the swan's height. "Is Henry right?" She asked softly. "Are you Emma?"

The swan nodded slowly, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Oh come on." David complained. "You're all being crazy. There is no way that this swan is Emma! We all saw with our own eyes that she's dead! What, did Regina turn her into a swan or something? That's ridiculous!"

"Stranger things have happened." Henry countered.

Mary Margaret was still mesmerized by the swan. "You know, I have just the way to prove if this is really Emma." She leaned her head closer to the swan's. "Emma, if this is you, tell me. What do you like with your hot chocolate?"

The swan immediately set off for the kitchen, using her long beak and neck to open a cabinet door. She flew up, feathers ruffling, as she knocked over a whole rack of spices.

"Now look what you've done." David muttered. The swan ignored him and flew back in front of Mary Margaret.

"Look!" Henry pointed at the round container in the swan's mouth. She set it down gently on the hardwood floor.

Cinnamon.

"That doesn't prove anything!' David argued. "She knocked over a half a dozen bottles; it's just a coincidence."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Everyone looked up, startled.

"Who is it now?" David grumbled and pushed open the door. Someone stood in the doorway, partially shrouded in the shadows. Everyone gasped audibly as the man came into view.

Archie.

**Author's note: Hahaha, isn't drunk Graham funny?**


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's note: Yep, super long ch. You're welcome :)**

Chapter 16

"Archie?" Mary Margaret gasped audibly as the ex-cricket turned town therapist stood panting in the open doorway. "B-but…" She stuttered, clearly at a loss for words. "You're supposed to be dead!"

"Archie!" Henry came running straight into the arms of his old therapist. "You're alive!"

Archie hugged the boy, but looked around nervously. "I'll explain, but it's not safe out here. If Regina found out I'm here…" He shuddered visibly.

"Come in, come in." Mary Margaret said, firmly shutting the door behind them.

"Emma! Oh, you're ok." To everyone's surprise, Archie walked quickly across the room towards the swan and petted her head. The swan made a pleased, honking sound and ruffled her feathers.

"What?" David just stared at all of them like they were insane. He turned to Archie. "You need to explain what's going on. Now." He crossed his arms over his chest and stared him down.

"All right. Let me start from the beginning." Archie started. "I'm guessing you already know that Regina is behind all this. As you can see, Regina did not kill me. She and Cora, her mother, kidnapped me and faked my death."

"Wait. Cora?" Mary Margaret gasped. "She's…here?"

Archie nodded gravely. "I'm afraid so. I don't know how and I don't know why, but she is."

"But why you?" David asked. "What do you have to do with any of this? With Emma?"

"They needed someone who had dirt on everyone in town." Archie looked down guiltily. "So it's my fault that everything happened. I'm so sorry. I had no choice but to tell them about Scarlett and everything."

Everyone nodded understandingly. They all knew how cruel Regina was. And Cora was no better.

"It's ok." Henry said kindly. "It's not your fault."

"We're just as much to blame as you." Mary Margaret sighed. "If anything, you did the least."

"Oh, hey, it's Artie the cricket. No, Archie." Graham slurred, speaking up for the first time. "Hahahaha, he's dead. It's a ghost! I'm seeing dead people…" He stumbled up, throwing back the remaining bit in his bottle. "I'm seeing dead people!" Graham sung drunkenly. "Hahaha. Let's see if he's see through!"

Before anyone could stop him, Graham swung his arm out and smacked Archie across the face with an audible crack. Graham's eyes immediately widened in horror and shock as he stared at his hand.

"What?" He gasped. He looked around. "What's going on?" He slurred, grabbing onto the back of the chair for support.

David stood up furiously and steered him into the bathroom, turning on a cold shower and shoving him in. "Don't get out until you're sober."

"Sorry about that." Mary Margaret apologized profusely. "He's been a little…off since, well you know."

Archie nodded. "Understandable."

"So, you were saying?" Henry prompted. "If Regina kidnapped and trapped you, how did you escape?"

"She kept me in this room in her underground lair at the mausoleum. Which I'm guessing you already found."

Everyone nodded.

He continued speaking. "I could hear everything they said. They really didn't care about me as long as I didn't give them any trouble. All they really needed was someone to provide them with information. So I knew everything that happened. From what I heard, Regina and Cora had this grand master plan that involved using my 'death' to keep her busy and make her seem crazy. That way, it would set it up so _Emma _would immediately be blamed for Scarlett's disappearance."

"Ohhh…" They said as the realization dawned on them. Regina had set a brilliant trap and they'd all fallen straight into it.

"Ultimately, I think Scarlett was used as bait. Bait to lure Emma. I'm guessing Emma told you about the whole SOS thing? They forced me to do all those dreams. Basically set up little clues to lead Emma to them. They wanted to isolate Emma, to make everyone hate her. And I would say they succeeded." He finished.

"But if Scarlett was just bait, why not give her back? They got what they wanted didn't they?" David said thoughtfully.

"Isn't it obvious?" Henry blurted. "It's cuz of me! They took Scarlett as revenge for Emma stealing me! This is all my fault!"

"If anything, it's mine." Graham said blearingly, coming back down the hall towards them. His hair was dripping wet but he was sober. "Emma was my wife; I should've protected her."

"No." David protested. "It's my fault. She's my daughter."

Everyone started protesting and talking over each other until it was so loud you couldn't tell who was speaking at whom.

"Stop!" Mary Margaret waved her arms wildly in the air. "Stop! Everyone stop blaming themselves! We're _not_ gonna accomplish anything by pointing fingers and assigning blame. We need to work together if we're gonna get Scarlett back and fix Emma."

"She's right." Archie agreed.

"How did you escape?"

"They got sloppy. Regina and Cora stopped caring, since they thought they'd won." Archie replied. "Earlier, I thought I heard them say something about going to the funeral just for fun and when I was sure they'd left, I ran out of there. Before, they had all these magical barriers up but for some reason they weren't there today. I had to come here and tell you everything."

"Do you know what happened when Emma went to find them?" Henry asked.

In response, Archie simply gestured at the swan sitting at their feet. "I'm not quite sure, but I managed to gather that Regina and Cora turned Emma into a swan. I heard sounds of a struggle and then a loud bang. After that, I kept overhearing them talk about 'the swan' and how it was gone. I thought they meant that they'd killed Emma. But then I found this where Emma's jacket was. And then I knew." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a single white feather. A feather identical to those on the swan's body.

They all stared at the feather for a long moment.

"So…the swan's Emma?" Mary Margaret asked, tears brimming in the corner of her eyes.

Archie nodded. "I'm pretty sure, yes."

"Told you." Henry muttered.

"Oh, Emma." Mary Margaret threw her arms around the swan's long neck.

"I promise we'll fix this." David said as he embraced the swan as well. The swan resisted for a moment but allowed her parents to hug her.

Graham wanted nothing more than to hold Emma and tell her that everything would be ok, but he couldn't, for he knew that he'd damaged their relationship way beyond repair. Mary Margaret and David had the excuse that they hadn't know Emma very well (who told their parents everything, honestly), but Graham didn't. He had been the one person that Emma had truly poured her heart out to, who she'd practically spent every waking moment with for almost three years, so despite what everyone said, he knew he was singlehandedly responsible for everything.

~Long Gone~

They'd decided that the best thing to do was to keep Archie hidden at Graham's apartment for the time being, for once Regina discovered that he was missing she'd surely suspect. They also had to keep Emma the swan well hidden. It was decided that Emma would stay at Mary Margaret and David's, since it was bigger and better suited for a swan.

They had to keep up appearances, continuing to play the part of a grieving family. It wasn't actually since it wasn't like they had that much to be happy about. Scarlett was still missing, behind enemy lines, and Emma was stuck as a swan.

But keeping everyone safe was an issue. The situation grew more and more desperate, as townspeople considered leaving Storybrooke to avoid the impending Regina threat. Mary Margaret and David were forced to field calls from panicking citizens every day.

"Still no sign of him." Graham said wearily as he came home. "Shop's closed down and everything." He said bitterly, setting down a bulging bag of groceries. Every day, they'd checked Rumpelstilskin's shop to see if he would help them in their fight against Regina. But it seemed as though he'd disappeared off the face of the Earth.

He cast a longing look at Emma, who sat in the corner of the living room on a makeshift nest. He felt so bad, for he was so helpless. His wife was a fucking swan, yet there was no way to help her. To make matters worse, it was beyond obvious that she still hated him.

"Here." He set down a dish of various aquatic plants. They'd done extensive research on what swans ate, but it was extremely difficult to acquire them without making it look too obvious that something was up. But it wasn't like it helped, for Emma refused to eat or do anything except hiss at people who approached and sleep. Only Henry was allowed near her. She just glared at him with her swan eyes, shifting her body so she was facing away from him.

"Em." He said desperately. She'd barely eaten anything since Henry brought her back, mainly because she was too angry at everyone to accept food.

She hissed loudly at him, tucking her head under her wing. She was so mad she couldn't even look at him.

"Look, I know you're mad, but starving yourself isn't the answer." He pleaded, taking a step closer, but she poked her head up and glared warningly. Graham could practically hear what she was thinking. It was probably something along the lines of: fuck off you bastard.

"We're doing everything we can." He paused.

She ignored him.

"I'm sorry." He said after a long moment. "I should've believed you." He said heavily. "I know it was part of Regina's plan to make everyone not believe you, but that's no excuse. I don't even know what I was thinking, blaming you for Scarlett. I should've known it wasn't your fault. I know nothing I say will ever make up for that."

She glared at him as if to say: damn right that you can't make up for it. I'm a fucking swan!

"Em?" He tried to touch her, but drew his hand back instantly as she bit down on his hand with her sharp beak. Hard.

"Ouch!" He cried, jumping backwards. "All right, all right. I'll stay away."

But staying away from his wife physically pained him. All he wanted was to be forgiven, but that obviously wasn't gonna happen. So he decided to go to Archie for help. If anyone could help him, it was the town therapist/conscience.

"I'm not surprised she's mad." Archie said. "Think about it. How did you make her feel? If what you said was correct, you were the one person she trusted most. The one person she truly counted on. The one person she let her guard down with. Emma has had a rocky life, growing up in the system and all. She has and probably always will have trust issues. Getting her to trust you was probably no easy feat."

Graham nodded morosely. "And I've failed her. I should've believed her. Then none of this would've happened."

"Don't beat yourself up about it. This was part of Regina's plan. She expected you to act that way."

"Will she ever forgive me?" Graham asked.

Archie shrugged. "Hard to say. Given her nature, I don't know."

"What am I supposed to do?" Graham pleaded desperately. "I love her. I can't just let this go."

"You have to win her trust back. Let her know how sorry you are. Show her you're willing to do anything." Archie stood up. "A romantic gesture never hurt anyone either."

It wasn't just Graham that Emma was pissed at; she barely even looked at her parents. Although she didn't bite them. Yet. It seemed as though Emma's initial joy at seeing her family was gone.

"What are we supposed to do?" Mary Margaret cast a worried look at Emma, who lay morosely in the corner.

"I don't know." David said heavily. All their hopes were drained, since Rumpelstilskin had disappeared. The looming of threat of Regina grew larger and larger with each passing day. It would only be a matter of time before Regina found out that her plan hadn't succeeded. "I feel like we should apologize, but I don't know if she'd even listen. I mean, look at Graham." He gestured at the Huntsman, who was sulking in the kitchen, bandaging his wounded hand.

"Well, we'll never know if we don't try. And we do owe her a big apology." Mary Margaret pointed out.

Emma looked up as her parents approached. Inwardly, she rolled her eyes and turned away. She'd sunk into a deep depression ever since Henry had brought her back. The last time she'd felt so shitty, so hopeless was her first night in jail. Even as a lonely foster kid, she'd always had hope. Hope that someday she'd escape the living hell that was her life. Yes, she was beyond relieved that they'd believed her (finally!) but still. Her situation was hopeless. She was stick as a fucking swan, for crying out loud, and daughter was with the two most evil people ever. Without Gold's help, they were basically screwed.

_Go away._ Emma thought as her parents got closer. _I don't wanna talk to you. Or anybody, for that matter._ Though she was happy she was home, there was the overarching fact that if her family had believed her they wouldn't be in this mess right now. She sighed, remembering the awful moment she'd woken up as a swan.

_She felt herself start to sink as she flapped her arms, er wings, up and down. Water. She was in the water. As a freaking swan! As the gravity of the situation set in, her panic only increased. She had no idea where she was. And she was a swan!_

_Emma realized how ridiculous she must've looked; a swan who was on the verge of drowning. She tried to calm her racing heart and regain her composure. Slowly, she rebalanced and floated comfortably atop the water's surface, her short legs tucked under her._

_Ok, Emma. She said to herself. She'd always been good at formulating plans under pressure. So she pretended that this was no different than usual._

_First things first. Get to land. She was never a great swimmer, and even though she was a swan it still didn't mean she was comfortable. She was pleasantly surprised to discover that her new webbed feet made maneuvering around in the water super easy, as they sliced through the cool, crisp water. She reached land way faster than she would have normally as a human. Now she had to figure out where she was. Judging by the deserted look of the area around her, she discerned that she was in the country._

_She walked around, noting how difficult it was to waddle around on her short legs. How did ducks do it? Ugh. Suddenly, she had the urge to spread her wings. Couldn't swans fly? Gingerly, she broke into a run and started flapping her wings, feeling completely ridiculous as she did so. Whatever. It wasn't like anyone could see. Miraculously, she stayed airborne, enjoying the feel of the air against her skin…or rather feathers. Her new animal senses, much sharper than her human ones, heightened as she soared above the clouds. _

_Alright. Focus, Emma. She glided around, searching the landscape for signs and whatnot that would indicate her current location. It wasn't easy, since all she saw were mostly houses and trees. Looked like some sort of suburb. It reminded her of Storybrooke and inexplicably, her eyes filled with tears. All she wanted was to go home. _

_Finally, she spotted what looked like a school. Flying closer, she saw that the school was called Toronto Secondary School. Toronto? As in the Toronto that was in…Canada? She was Canada? That was a hell of a way from Storybrooke, Maine. _

_But what other choices did she have? She had to get home in order to fight Regina and find Scarlett. Soaring higher, she quickly spotted the highway, whose signs indicated the correct way south. Great. It was gonna be a long journey. _

_However, she discovered that flying was pretty easy; she flew pretty quickly through the air. It was pretty exhilarating, zooming through the air. It lifted her spirits. She even laughed (which sounded like a honk) at the craziness of it all. Regina had turned her into a swan because she was Emma Swan. Real creative. _

_While she flew, she tried to figure out what her next step would be. Once she reached Storybrooke, she had to reveal herself to her family. As much as she dreaded seeing them again, she knew it was absolutely necessary. But how would she convince them of the truth when that'd failed so miserably last time? _

_The journey didn't actually take that long. She stopped several times to rest and drink from some ponds that she found in the forest. She also realized that she'd developed an appetite for aquatic plants and bugs. Normally, she would've been grossed out but as a swan she didn't really mind. In fact it tasted pretty good. _

_The closer to Storybrooke, the more nervous she got. What was she supposed to do? She figured that revealing herself to Henry would be easiest, since he had a natural affinity to animals (like Mary Margaret actually) and he was more inclined to believe in crazy stuff such as this. _

_As she reached Storybrooke, something felt off. The streets were empty, something that never happened in this tiny but bustling town. Had Regina done something? Just then, her heightened animal senses picked up on the fact that there was a large gathering. She followed the noise, sensing that this was not a happy gathering. _

_Emma stopped, flying above the graveyard as she realized. A funeral. That was what everybody was there for. But who had died? She spotted her parents walking with Henry, all looking very sad. Whoever had died must've been very well loved, for many of Storybrooke's residents looked devastated as well. Next to Henry was Graham. Oh God. Just seeing him made her heart ache with both longing and grief. She missed him so much, yet she couldn't touch him. Above all, those emotions were eclipsed by her overarching anger towards him._

_She noticed that Graham carried a large, white box. With a jolt, she realized who's funeral it was. Hers. So Regina must've made it look like she died. Well played, bitch. _

_It was terribly strange to watch one's own funeral. The sight of all these people here to honor her death made tears well up in her eyes; she'd come so far from that lonely little foster girl that nobody liked. She stayed hidden behind trees, listening to everyone sob and the touching speeches made by many people: her parents, Graham, Henry, Ruby, etc. Several times their words brought tears to her eyes. But then she remembered how they'd treated her, essentially calling her crazy and blaming her for Scar's disappearance, and the tears vanished. Several times, she thought Graham saw her, as he squinted out in her direction. She quickly slipped behind a tree. Luckily, he probably thought it was just some random animal. _

_Soon, the funeral was over. Emma settled herself behind several trees. She didn't know why, but she had a strong feeling Henry would show up soon. It was probably the whole mother's intuition thing. So she waited. Watched as Graham came, bearing flowers for her headstone. She soared up high, for she didn't want to hear what he had to say. A while later, just as she'd predicted, Henry came walking up to her headstone. _

_She crept quietly towards him, her heart aching as she watched him cry. Cry over what he thought was her dead body. Or jacket. Whatever. It was heartbreaking, to watch one's kid sob so desperately. When he said the word Mommy, she felt her head swell with emotion. In that moment, as he broke down, Emma forgave him completely. He was just a kid. _Her _kid. She couldn't stay mad at him. And to be fair, she'd made so many mistakes too, pre-curse, and he'd forgiven her._

_Alright, here goes nothing, she thought as she waddled up to Henry. Her entire life hinged on whether or not her son believed his supposedly dead mother was a swan. _

"Emma." Her parents crouched down next to her, breaking her out of her thoughts. Great. She was literally surrounded.

"We know you're mad. Believe me, we're mad too. At ourselves for not believing you." Mary Margaret started gently. "I mean, the idea that Regina was back did seem pretty unbelievable, but that was no excuse."

"You're our daughter, and we had a responsibility to protect you." David added. "And we failed miserably at that. And we're really, truly sorry. We were so wrapped up in our own lives that we didn't see the truth. The cold hard facts. That you would never lie, especially not about the life of your daughter."

Emma stiffened angrily. _Damn right! Too bad it took you so long to realize that!_

"You're a better parent than us." Mary Margaret laughed dryly. "Emma, believe us. We love you so much. When we thought you were dead…" She sniffled. "I don't know what we would've done without you. Knowing that we indirectly caused your death. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself."

At this, Emma couldn't help it. A few tears leaked out of her eyes. At that moment, she wished she was human again so she could hug her parents and tell them that she forgave them. That they'd just made a horrible mistake. And they actually seemed very sorry. And their heartfelt speeches at the funeral had been quite touching. And it was getting kinda tiring to stay mad. At least they were making an effort. It was one thing to be mad at Graham (although he'd made a pretty nice speech too, it didn't cancel out everything he'd said about her despite knowing her so well) but another to be mad at her parents.

She made a honking noise that she hoped conveyed her forgiveness towards them. Luckily, her parents seemed to understand what she meant as they hugged her tightly. She leaned in towards them, savoring their touch. For a sweet, yet horribly brief moment, it felt like everything was all right in the world.

~Long Gone~

Regina watched as Mary Margaret and David left their apartment and got into their car. It looked as though they were headed for the harbor again. That was odd. For the past several days, she watched as either Graham or Emma's parents went to the grocery store or the harbor repeatedly. It almost seemed as though they were looking for…no that wasn't possible. When she and Cora had cast that spell that turned Emma into a swan, they'd make sure to send her as far away as their combined powers could manage. Magic was limited and they had to be careful not to use it all up.

Still, she was watching just to make sure. At first, it seemed as though they'd succeeded. But now, it looked kinda fishy and suspicious. She knew that Emma was smart. Smart enough to make it back? Rather unlikely, but perhaps possible.

She watched, eyes narrowed, as Mary Margaret and David started collecting bags of what looked like slimy weeds. Or…aquatic plants? What swans loved to eat? She groaned as the realization hit her that Emma had made it back.

And now they were back to the drawing board. Regina had specifically told Cora that the whole swan thing wasn't going to work. They'd thought that Emma would just become so hopeless and despondent that she'd just give up. But that obviously wasn't the case. Clearly they'd underestimated the power of true love again. Emma's love for Scarlett had sent her back to Storybrooke. It was evident that even with her vast knowledge of magic, Cora had forgotten about the powers of true love.

With a flash of purple smoke, Cora appeared next to her. Her jaw was set in a straight, angry line as she surveyed the scene in front of her.

"You have got to be kidding me." She murmured. They were invisible to everyone but each other, but if they spoke too loud people could overhear.

"Mother, I told you…" She started but was cut off.

"No worry, dear. I have an idea." Cora smiled slowly. "How attached are you to Scarlett?"

**Author's note: Oooohhh is that what I think it means? REVIEW to find out!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's note: For those of you who are interested, please check out my new Once fanfic, Scattered. **

Chapter 17

Regina stared at her mother, aghast. "What?" She breathed.

"How attached are you to Scarlett?" Cora repeated.

"Mother. You're not suggesting we…"

Cora chuckled. "No. Well, not unless Emma doesn't cooperate. But I have a feeling she'll do anything for her daughter."

This did nothing to comfort Regina, as she continued to gape at Cora. "B-but…."

Cora perused her daughter. "Why, Regina, my darling, don't tell me you're becoming soft."

"Well…" Regina trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. "I…"

"Did you actually think we could _keep _Scarlett?" Cora laughed meanly. "She's nothing but a pawn. Bait for our swan."

"It wouldn't be a bad idea." Regina argued. "It's just…" She looked away, not wanting to admit the truth.

"Sweetheart." Cora stood to face her daughter. "I know that you miss Henry. Really, I do. But love is weakness." She said firmly. "Look at what its cost you. It's the exact thing we are counting on to ensure our victory. We _cannot _lose focus."

Regina nodded. "You're right, Mother." Her eyes shifted into sharp focus. "So what exactly is your plan?"

~Long Gone~

Emma sat in the living room. She had an itch on her beak yet she couldn't exactly scratch it with wings. Ugh. Being a swan sucked. She missed human things. Above all, what she wouldn't give for a shower. Real swans lived in water so they were constantly clean. But they couldn't let her go out, so she was stuck. Stuck in this apartment. Stuck in this stupid swan body. Stuck lying in the living room, watching mindless hours of TV. She ached to go outside and stretch her wings, but of course that was out of the question.

They still had no idea how to fix things. Gold had practically disappeared, and he was their only hope. The only one with magic. Mary Margaret had suggested true love's kiss but that had been shot down, since Emma made it clear that she did _not _love Graham anymore. In fact, she didn't know if she ever did.

She lay back down, closing her eyes. Lately all she'd been doing besides watch TV was sleep. It was all she could do to pass the time. She heard the click clack of high heels in front of her. Figuring it was just Mary Margaret passing through, she kept her eyes closed and tried to fall asleep.

But instead of growing faint, the heels grew closer and closer until it sounded like they stopped directly in front of her. Irritated, Emma looked up. Who was it and what did they want?

She opened her eyes to see a pair of tall black boots standing directly in front of her. At first she thought it was just her mother but then she realized there was only one other person who wore boots like that.

Regina.

Emma immediately shot up, looking around in panic. But there was no one around. No one around to see Regina. No one around to save her. No around to hear her last screams as Regina killed her. As a swan, she was completely defenseless.

"Oh, don't worry." Regina smirked as she took in Emma's futile attempts to get her family's attention. "I'll be long gone before they see."

She bent down to Emma's height. "So, white feathers suit you." She mocked. Emma honked angrily and tried to bite Regina, but the evil queen dodged her beak.

"Oh, someone's a bit feisty." She sneered as she straightened back up. "I have to say, I never would've thought you were smart enough to find your way back. Have to give you props; guess you don't fit the whole blonde stereotype."

Emma glared at her through her swan eyes.

"Anyway, I'm not here to mock you. Though it is rather fun." Regina snorted derisively as she strolled around the apartment. "My my, I see we've gotten a little lazy on the tidying. Oh, wait, must be hard to do that when you don't have hands."

"I'm here to offer you a deal." Regina continued. "You know your precious little daughter Scarlett?"

At the sound of Scarlett, Emma started flying around and honking angrily as if to say what in the hell have you done with my daughter?

"Settle down." Regina said condescendingly. "Wouldn't want to get feathers all over the carpet now. You need not worry, Ms. Swan. I haven't harmed a hair on her little head…yet." She snickered.

_Yet? What exactly did that mean? _

"That's right. _Yet._" Regina emphasized that last word. "If you want to save that little brat, you will willingly come with me and my mother. You will sacrifice yourself for your daughter."

Emma leveled her with a stare that meant to say, or else?

"Or else she dies." Regina finished. She smiled slowly, her red lips spreading across her face. The smile of someone who knew they'd already won. "What will it be?"

~Long Gone~

The moment Graham set foot in Mary Margaret and David's apartment, he could feel that something was off. Terribly wrong. He'd stopped by to drop off some more aquatic plants for Emma, hoping that maybe she would listen to him. Listen to him explain and apologize.

"Emma?" He called, for he noticed that the spot she usually occupied was empty, save for a couple white feathers. It felt quieter than normal. Usually the TV was on or Henry was chattering away to his mother in the living room. But today all was still.

"Hello?" He called, searching every room. He knew Mary Margaret and David had gone out grocery shopping, and Henry was out at Granny's or something. But where was Emma? Graham grew more and more anxious as he came to the realization that the apartment was empty.

He knew that there was no way Emma could've escaped. The windows were all locked, mostly for her safety, and it wasn't like she could open doors with her wings or beak. There was something larger at play here. Something was really, truly wrong.

Just then, he thought he heard a high pitched giggle coming from down the hall. Cautiously, he tiptoed towards the living room, sending a quick message to Emma's parents as he walked. He came to a stop as he saw the small figure seated on the couch in the living room.

"Hi Daddy!"

"_Scarlett_?"

**Author's note: Oh hey, she's back. Or is she...mwahaha**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"Scarlett?" Graham gasped with shock. Was this just a hallucination? He rubbed his eyes vigorously but when he opened them again, Scarlett was still there. She sat on the couch, a juice box clutched in one hand with her teddy bear under the other arm.

"H-how did you get in here?" He asked, taking a tentative step towards her. He still couldn't believe his eyes; this had to be a trick. It had to be a trap.

"Hi Daddy!" She waved cheerfully. "Me dwink gwape juice!" She smiled adorably. Her reappearance, coupled with Emma's disappearance, made things seem very suspicious. Before he could say anything else, he found Scarlett's arms wrapped tightly around his legs.

Slowly, Graham bent down to pick up his daughter. "Scar? Is that really you?" _And not a trap._ He wanted to add.

"It's me Daddy!" She squealed happily. "I Scarlett!"

It had to be a trick. He knew that Regina had kidnapped her. But she felt so, so…_real_. He held her close, savoring her familiar Scarlett scent. There was no way a hallucination could be this realistic. Right? He had _so _many questions (like what in the hell had happened to Emma), but he couldn't bring himself to ask them as he hugged his daughter. He'd missed her so, so much. A few tears trickled out of his eyes as he buried his face in her pile of curls. She reminded him so much of Emma.

Just then, Mary Margaret and David burst into the room, followed by Henry.

"We got your message." David said. "What's wrong?"

And then they spotted Scarlett, nestled in her father's arms. "Wait. Scarlett?" Mary Margaret's eyes widened in shock.

"Scar!" Henry cried happily, but his grandparents held him back.

"This could be a trap." David cautioned. "We don't know if that's the real Scarlett. Or the real Graham, for that matter."

"It's me." Graham reassured them. They still didn't look all too convinced.

"What does Emma like with her hot chocolate?" Mary Margaret asked, crossing her arms over her chest suspiciously.

"Cinnamon." Graham answered automatically. It wasn't exactly common knowledge, making it the best security question.

"All right it's you." David said. "But what about her?" He gestured at the toddler.

"I don't know." Graham said uncertainly. "I just found her here, on the couch." He placed his daughter down on the couch again and everyone surrounded the toddler.

"All right Scarlett. Tell us, how did you get here?" Graham asked again. He started blurting out a whole bunch of questions, questions that had irked him for ages. "What happened? Where's Mommy?"

At the word Mommy, Scarlett's face immediately crumpled up, like she was about to start crying. "Want Mommy."

"Whoa there. If this is the real Scarlett, we don't want to overload her. She'd just a toddler." David reminded him.

Graham nodded. "Ok, Scar. Let's try this again. How did you get here?"

Scarlett shrugged adorably. "I sleep. I wake up. I here! Wif teddy!" She held up her teddy bear.

"Yes, yes ok. But what happened? To you? Who took you?" Mary Margaret asked, even though they already knew the answer. They needed to make sure this was actually Scarlett.

Her face darkened. "Bad lady. Black hair. Twied to kill Mommy." Scarlett suddenly burst into tears. "I want Mommy! Mommy!"

And in that moment, Graham knew that this was his daughter. No one, not even Regina and Cora with all of their magic, could imitate Scarlett quite so well. He knew, knew in his bones that this was the real Scarlett.

"I know, Scar. I know." He wrapped up his daughter tightly. "Shhh. Calm down. We're gonna find her. We're gonna find Mommy." He said soothingly, but even as he said it, he wasn't quite sure.

"But we're gonna need your help, Scarlett." Mary Margaret urged. "Scarlett, I know it's hard, but we need to think, ok?"

Scarlett sniffled. "Kay."

"Now, think back to when you were with Regina. Did she say anything? Did her mother, the lady with the brown hair, say anything? Anything about Mommy?"

Scarlett scrunched up her face in concentration. "I dunno." She yawned. "I tired."

They groaned in frustration.

"Maybe we're pushing her too far." Mary Margaret said. "I mean, she's just a baby."

"But we don't have time." Graham said urgently. "For all we know, Emma's dead. We failed to protect her again. _I _failed to protect her again." Without meaning to, tears started dripping down his cheeks.

Suddenly, Scarlett's arms were around his neck. "Don't cwy Daddy."

"Thanks." He sniffled. "I love you Scarlett."

"Wuv you too." She said.

Just then, she pointed excitedly at a picture book on the coffee table. "Mommy!"

"I know, I know." He said. "We're gonna find her."

"Mommy!" Scarlett pointed again.

"That's just a book, Scar." David held up the book. The brightly colored cover had a unicorn next to a wishing well. He flipped through it. "See, something you read."

Scarlett shook her head vigorously. "No. Mommy!"

"It's just a book." Mary Margaret echoed her husband. "Which I'm sure Mommy used to read to you."

But Henry regarded his sister curiously. "I-I think she's trying to tell us something."

"Mommy!" Scarlett repeated. "Mommy!"

"What does the book have to do with Emma?" Mary Margaret asked. "It's just a book."

"Maybe its reminding Scarlett of something Regina and Cora mentioned? Something related to Emma?" David guessed.

"But it's just a unicorn and a magic wishing well." Graham argued. "Not a swan."

"Wait a minute. Well?" Henry's eyes widened. "Well!"

"What?"

With newfound excitement, Henry held up the book in front of his sister. "Scarlett, is this what you're talking about? The wishing well?"

Scarlett nodded and clapped her hands. "Mommy!"

Henry looked back at his confused family. "They've taken her to the well."

~Long Gone~

It took five minutes to assemble all needed weapons, and another five to actually drive to the forest. Thanks to the threat of Regina, most everyone was staying off the streets in fear. They'd taken Henry and Scarlett with them, not sure if Regina or Cora would come to kidnap them if they were left home.

"Ok, everyone. We need to be careful." David advised as they approached the base of the forest. "We know that Regina and Cora have magic. They're highly dangerous." He said as he unsheathed his sword.

"Henry, I think it's best if you stay in the car with Scarlett." Graham said.

"No!" Henry protested. He held his sleeping sister in his arms. "We're coming with you!"

Mary Margaret, David, and Graham looked at each other. They knew it was no use arguing, nor did they have any time to do so.

"All right." Graham said finally. "But you're staying back. Make sure to stay hidden, and keep an eye on Scarlett. Keep her quiet."

Henry nodded. "Got it."

"Here, take this." Mary Margaret handed him a knife. "Just in case."

They set out, weapons drawn, walking single file, keeping their eyes and ears peeled for anything. Any traps or anything that could've been set out. They had no idea what to expect, but one thing was for sure: it wasn't going to be good.

"We're almost there." David whispered. "Stay close. And be very, very quiet." He whispered. Everyone nodded, their faces screwed up with concentration.

_Behind here._ Mary Margaret mouthed. They huddled behind a thick tree, about twenty feet from the well. The sight before them made Graham's heart clench. Regina and Cora stood in the clearing. They seemed to be poring over something. An old spell book? And next to the well was Emma/the swan. She was tied up, completely defenseless. And the worst part was, she looked exhausted, drooped over the chains binding her. Like the epitome of someone who'd given up.

"So we have to wait till sunset?" Regina squinted at what appeared to be an old spell book. "Ugh."

"Patience, my dear." Another voice said. Cora. "We'll have our revenge and no time. And we'll be home too."

Regina nodded. "Thank you. For everything, Mother."

Cora smiled. It was a creepy, bone chilling sight. "Don't thank me. Thank Emma here." She nudged the swan with the tip of her boot. "If it wasn't for her noble sacrifice, we wouldn't be able to get home."

"Of course." Regina agreed. "So all we have to do is slit her throat, er beak, right as the sun sets."

"Yes." Cora nodded. "And then we'll throw the blood into the well to make a portal. To get home."

_Slit her throat?_ Mary Margaret mouthed, her eyes wide with anger and fear.

"Over my dead body." David whispered.

Scarlett began to stir. "Shh!" Henry hissed. "Go back to sleep."

"So what do we do?" Graham whispered. "We can't just sit back." He checked his watch. "Six minutes till sundown."

Scarlett yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Mama?" She said. "Mommy!" She squealed excitedly as she glimpsed her mother.

"Shh!" Everyone hissed automatically as they surveyed the situation in front of them. No one thought about how Scarlett knew who the swan was.

"We could wait till their backs are turned." Mary Margaret suggested, but before they could plan any further, Scarlett shot out of Henry's arms and toddled towards her mother, arms outstretched.

"Mommy!" She ran as fast her little legs could take her. "Mamaaaa!"

Regina and Cora turned towards the toddler; the surprise was etched all over their faces. "What the…"

"No! Scar!" Mary Margaret, David, Graham, and Henry shot after her. "Stop!" They came to a crashing halt, afraid to take another step, as Regina and Cora turned towards them.

"Scarlett?" Mary Margaret called. "Come back here, honey."

Regina and Cora lunched for the toddler at the same time Graham tried to. But Scarlett was too fast for all of them. And then it happened. Scarlett ran straight for her mother and hugged her tightly. The swan was enveloped in a bright yellow glow, temporarily blinding everyone, even Regina and Cora.

Scarlett stepped back from the swan, clapping her hands happily. "Mama!"

And Emma stood up, unfolding her long limbs, long blonde hair ruffling in the wind.

"No." Regina gasped.

Emma was a human again.

**Author's note: Any guesses as to why/how this happened? **


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's note: Thank you sooo much for all the reviews! Luckily I already wrote the entire story, or else you wouldn't get a new ch till the end of May :)**

Chapter 19

One moment, she was tied up near the well, counting the moments until her death. At least she'd die with the knowledge that Scarlett was safe. That her family was safe. As evil as Regina was, Emma knew she was telling the truth when she said that if Emma came with her and Cora, Scarlett would be returned safely back home. What use did they have for Scarlett after Emma was dead? And that was a sacrifice Emma was willing to make.

She'd closed her eyes, waiting for the blade that would spill her lifeblood onto the hard forest floor. The blood that would allow Regina and Cora to create a portal to go home. According to Regina, one of the many methods to create a portal would be to sacrifice someone pure and use their blood. And what better person to sacrifice than Emma? She'd rather sacrifice herself for her family, to ensure that the Regina/Cora threat would be gone forever, then live with the knowledge that they were constantly in danger.

So Emma hadn't even known when Scarlett had come running up, squealing her name. She was so focused on her imminent death that she hadn't even noticed. Well, until she'd felt someone's arms wrapped around her white feathered body. Looked down to see her daughter. Wondered if it was a hallucination. Felt her body warm and light up, bathed in a yellow glow. She'd squeezed her eyes shut. Maybe it was part of the sacrifice.

She felt herself start to grow, her limbs stretching, her body lifted up and spinning in the air. And then she landed gracefully on her feet. Opened her eyes to see her hands. She was back. Back as a human. Even dressed in the same outfit as before.

Emma looked around. Her family was gathered around the clearing, weapons drawn, looks of concern on their faces. Regina and Cora stood, gaping at her in disbelief. Scarlett stood at her feet, a wide grin on her adorable face. Emma bent down to pick her up, surveying the situation in front of her. She had to get everyone, especially her kids, out of here and to safety.

"No." Regina gasped. "How did this happen?"

"Good question." Emma snapped.

"Doesn't matter." Cora butted in. "We have three minutes till sundown. Kill them."

Three minutes. They only had to last three minutes. Quickly, Emma handed off Scarlett to Henry. "Run!"

Henry didn't need to be told twice, as he took off with his sister. Regina and Cora didn't even look twice at them, for they weren't the person of interest.

"Kill them all. And be sure to slit the swan's throat." Regina and Cora circled Emma, Mary Margaret, David, and Graham. Their faces were scrunched up with hatred.

Mary Margaret threw Emma a knife, who caught it gratefully. "Glad you're back."

"Me too." Emma smiled briefly, but that was all they had time for.

And then it started.

Even though Regina and Cora were outnumbered 2 to 1, they had the upper hand, thanks to their magic. Regina threw fireball after fireball, while Cora disappeared in puffs of smoke and reappeared randomly, making it difficult to hit her.

"Careful!" Emma said as she knocked Graham to the ground; they narrowly missed a particularly nasty looking fireball, which went over a steep cliff near the well that overlooked miles and miles of dark forest. The forest immediately erupted into flames.

"Thanks." He said, getting to his feet. For a second, it looked as though he wanted to say something, but before he could Emma turned away. Now was most certainly not the time.

"One minute and thirty nine seconds until sundown." Cora shouted at Regina. "Kill the others!"

It was incredibly unfair, fighting Regina and Cora. Emma watched helplessly as Graham charged at Regina with his sword drawn, but with a mere flick of her wrist Regina threw him back quite easily. He slammed into a tree and was motionless. With a flick of both hands, Cora knocked David down and he hit a tree just like Graham.

"No!" Mary Margaret cried, but before she could charge at Cora, she too was thrown aside. Before Emma could lunge for Cora, she disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.

"What have you done?!" A kid's voice cried. Henry. His eyes widened in shock as he took in his unconscious family. Scarlett was in his arms, her face full of fear. _What in the hell were they doing here? _

"What're you doing? I told you to run!" Emma shouted.

"I-I heard screams. Wanted to help." Henry stammered.

With a hungry sneer, Regina started towards Henry and Scarlett.

"No!" With a guttural growl, Emma charged straight at Regina, miraculously missing all the fireballs that were thrown her way, knocking Regina off course. "HENRY GO!" She shouted at the top of her lungs.

Regina somehow conjured a sword and they began dueling. To the death. Regina's face was full of malicious hate as she tried repeatedly to slit Emma's throat. The only thing keeping Emma going was that she had to do this. For her family.

"Die!" Regina snarled in frustration as Emma deflected a deadly blow. "_YOU WILL DIE_!" She gnashed her teeth in fury.

"Don't be so sure!" Emma countered, her face growing red from exertion. She didn't know how in the hell she'd learned to duel, but she seemed to be holding her own. She barely felt it when Regina's sword sliced through her jacket and left a deep gash on her arm. Both were fueled by their mutual hatred, along with Emma's need to protect her family.

"Once you die, I'll take Scarlett as my daughter." Regina mocked as she waved her sword in the air. "She'll call me Mommy."

"STAY AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!" Emma screamed. With her non sword hand, she reached up and punched Regina in the face. Hard. The force of her punch must've been extremely powerful, as Regina's head was thrown back and she dropped her sword. Her foot tripped over a stray pebble and she went stumbling backwards. Before Emma knew what was happening, Regina went sailing towards the cliff.

"No!" Emma cried. As much as she hated Regina, she didn't want to be the one to kill her. "Grab my hand!" She launched herself towards the cliff, flattening herself down, hand outstretched, but Regina was falling too fast. She disappeared over the rocky cliff, straight down into the fiery forest, screaming all the way down, her face full of fear and hatred.

"Regina!" Emma looked over, but all she could see was the huge forest fire raging down below. No one, not even Regina and all her magic, could survive that. Shakily, she stood back up and turned around. And looked straight into Cora's eyes.

"That. Was. My. Daughter!" Cora screamed. "You stupid bitch! You killed my daughter! AND YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!"

Before Emma could argue that she actually tried to save Regina, Cora thrust her hand straight into Emma's chest. "If I can't have your blood, at least I can have your heart."

It was the worst pain Emma had ever experienced. Worse than anything she'd ever felt in her entire life. Even worse than being shot. It was mind numbing and dizzying and nauseating. She gasped out, unable to scream, as she felt Cora's hand tighten around her heart.

"And after you die, I think I'll take those precious kids of yours." Cora simpered. "I do miss having children around." She looked back at Henry and Scarlett, who were still there, paralyzed with fright. "Or perhaps I'll kill them. That should be fun."

"NEVER!" Emma screamed. Pain radiated through her body in shocking waves as she fought to remain standing. "YOU WILL NEVER TOUCH THEM!"

"Oh you stupid foolish girl." Cora mocked. "Don't you know? Love is weakness. It's not gonna save you." With a sardonic smirk, she pulled her hand backwards. But it remained there, stuck in Emma's chest. A confused look crossed her face. She tried to pull it out again, but found that she couldn't. Yet again.

"No." Emma said shakily. She'd been over this with Regina several years ago in Granny's, just before she'd pushed her through the portal. "Didn't you get the memo? It's strength."

And then it happened. With a great surge of emotion and power she didn't even know she had, she felt something inside her push Cora away. Cora was blasted back and she sailed right over the cliff, falling to a fiery death just like her daughter, cursing Emma all the way down.

She was dead. Cora and Regina were both dead. It was over.

**Author's note: Sooo what did you think? Oh and I know this is probably intuitive, but thanks to my BFF MonkeyLovr for all her help with this fight scene. **


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's note: As always, thanks for all the reviews. Only 1 AP test left so decided to update :)**

Chapter 20

"Mom!" Henry launched himself at his mother and hugged her tightly.

"I thought I told you to run! You could've been killed." Emma cried, but she found it hard to stay angry, as tears started dripping down her cheeks. "I love you both so, so much." She said as she hugged them close.

"Love you too." Henry said, his voice muffled. Emma reached down and picked up Scarlett from his arms.

"Hey cutie." She said, ruffling her daughter's hair.

"Mama!" Scarlett squealed. "Me missed you Mama!"

"Missed you too." Emma started sobbing. "Missed you so much."

She heard a faint moaning from behind her, and turned around to see her parents and Graham stirring. With one arm around Henry and the other holding Scarlett tightly, she walked towards her family.

"You ok?" Mary Margaret asked with concern as she examined her daughter for cuts and bruises.

"Yeah." Emma answered. "You?"

"We'll live." David groaned as he rubbed his head. "Boy, can Cora throw."

"Speaking of, where are they?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Gone. Dead." Emma gestured at the cliff. Her parents smiled proudly and wrapped her in a tight hug. Graham hovered awkwardly. It was just like 3 years ago at Granny's except this time they had Scarlett.

"What was that yellow glow?" Henry asked as they pulled away. "When Scar hugged Mom?"

"Good question." Emma said. "I just felt this, this warmth inside and the next thing I knew I was back to normal."

"I have a feeling Gold can answer that." David said. "C'mon. Let's go."

With a last look at the well, they made their way out of the forest. This time, Regina and Cora were gone for good. Because no one could be brought back from the dead.

~Long Gone~

"Ah, do my eyes deceive me or is that the sight of a family reunited?" Gold quipped as the door was flung open.

"Quit the yapping." Emma snapped. "What have you done to Scarlett?"

"Me?" Gold placed his hand on his chest, offended. "I'm sorry, but do I look like Regina to you?"

"You know what I'm talking about." Emma countered. "Scarlett. She did something." She began to explain everything, from Regina turning her into a swan up to the battle in the forest.

"Scarlett came up and hugged me and there was this yellow glow and the next thing I knew I was back to normal." Emma finished. "It's like it was…"

"Magic?" Gold finished. "That's right, dearie. Your precious little baby just did her first bit of magic. You must be so proud." He golf clapped.

"Magic?" David asked. "But how?"

"The same way _your _daughter can do magic. She's the product of true love." Gold replied. "Little Scarlett here loved her mommy so much her magic cured her."

"So…Scarlett has magic because she's the product of true love?" Mary Margaret said.

"Exactly. Just like Ms. Swan. Looks like you need not worry. I'm sure your marriage will last." He winked. "Now, if that's all you came for, have a nice day. I have a date to get to."

"One more thing." Emma said. "Why weren't you here earlier? When you could actually help us?"

"Why, dearie, I wanted you to see just how powerful you are." Gold answered. "You are the product of true love, and you needed to learn how to harness your powers. Plus I figured you'd enjoy the chance to take down Regina yourself."

Emma rolled her eyes. But she really didn't have a reason to argue, since the worst was over.

~Long Gone~

"Wow. I sure made a mess, didn't I?" Emma said as she surveyed her parents' apartment. "Looks like you're gonna have fun cleaning it up, cuz I'm exhausted." She looked at Scarlett, who yawned. "See ya in the morning." She headed towards the door, fumbling with her keys and trying to balance Scarlett at the same time.

"Here, let me take her." Graham offered, but Emma brushed him off.

"It's fine. I got it." She mumbled, dropping her keys. "Shit." She set down Scarlett and bent down to get them.

"Emma. How long are you gonna stay mad at me?"

"I'm not mad." She replied.

"Then why won't you look me in the eye?"

Emma rolled her eyes and stared him down. "Better?"

"No. You're shooting hate daggers at me." He took her hand. "C'mon. You've forgiven everyone else but me."

She pulled her hand away. "Don't touch me."

"See? You _are _mad." He said. "Em, you can't stay mad at me forever."

"And why not?" She snapped. "Do you even know how you made me feel? No, of course you don't. No one does."

"Em, you know how sorry I am."

"Don't call me that." Her eyes flashed dangerously. "You don't get to talk to me. You know, I don't even know why I fell for you in the first place. All that crap about trusting each other? It was just that. Bullshit." She rolled her eyes. "I can't believe _you _accused _me _of causing our daughter's disappearance. I thought we knew each other better than that. All that time we spent together…was that for nothing?" Her eyes shone with unshed tears. "I _loved _you. So, so much. But you, you tossed my heart and broke it into pieces. So hear me loud and clear when I say this, Graham. I want you out of my life. For good."

"You don't mean that, Emma." He stuttered.

"I do." She said firmly. "It's quite simple, actually. I don't love you anymore."

The room was silent, so thick with tension you could cut it with a knife.

And then Henry spoke up. "Yes you do! You still love him!"

Emma whirled around angrily. "Henry, stay out of this."

"But it's true!" He insisted. "You heard what Mr. Gold said. Scarlett wouldn't have been able to do magic if she wasn't the product of true love. You and Graham still love each other!"

Emma's face reddened; she knew she was trapped and backed into a corner. "No. I don't!" She screamed, though it was clear even she didn't believe her own words. Her face reddened as she realized that she'd just screamed at her son. "Excuse me. I need some air." She said, her voice thick with tears as the door was flung open and she walked out.

**Author's note: Ooohhh what do you think is gonna happen next? Next ch, aka the last ch, already written so review and I'll update faster. **


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's note: Last ch! Hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 21

In the three years Graham had been with Emma, he'd come to learn that one of Emma's very favorite places was the beach. So it was only natural that she'd go to the beach.

After she'd slammed the door, everyone had looked at each other in shock.

"Should we go after her?" Mary Margaret said uncertainly.

"No. I'll go." Graham said. _Because it was all my fault._ He added silently.

Yep. Just as he thought. As he approached the beach, he could see his wife's long blonde hair ruffling in the wind. She stood on the sand, her face buried in her hands. Graham's heart broke at the pitiful sight, for he'd caused this. If only he'd believed in her…

"Em?" He took a tentative step towards her.

Immediately, the tears were gone. "Oh. It's you." She said without turning around. "Didn't I say I wanted you out of my life?"

"I'm not that easy to get rid of." He joked in an attempt to lighten the mood. She didn't smile.

"Emma, I know you're mad. Really, I do. But are you gonna stay mad at me forever?" He asked.

"You don't get it, do you?" Her eyes flashed dangerously. "Do you know how you made me feel? Yeah, I get that Regina meant for it to happen. But I honestly thought we had a better relationship than that. Strong enough that Regina wouldn't be able to break apart. You made me feel like how you said no one should ever make me feel. I felt completely alone, like I had no one left in the world. My parents didn't believe me. Fine. They don't know me that well. But you?" Her voice broke. "You. You. Stupid. Fucking. Son. Of. A. Bitch." She punctuated each word with a hard punch. "You actually thought I was capable of that kind of evil! Bastard!" Emma started sobbing and punching every bit of him she could reach. Damn. She could really pack a punch.

Graham stood there, momentarily stunned, until he came to his senses, wrapping his arms around her. She continued to struggle against him for a bit until she realized that her hands were pinned against him. Emma just stood there, sobbing freely. Graham held her patiently until her sobs quieted, not sure what to say or do.

"Em. Believe me when I say that I'm really, truly sorry." He said once she was quiet and had stopped shaking. "I should've believed you. Believed in you. I shouldn't have let Regina tear us apart. I guess I just didn't want to believe that Regina was back, because the last time she was here, well, let's just say it wasn't great. I just wanted to believe that everything was normal, and I took all my frustrations out on you. When I saw that jacket, thought you were dead…it was the worst day of my life. When I thought I'd lost you forever, I wanted to curl up and die. Life without you…well it's pretty much the worst thing I can imagine. I love you, Emma. So, so much. You've made my life so much better. Every day, I wake up and I think about how lucky I am that out of everyone in the world, Emma Swan picked me."

"And hey." He continued. "I _know _you still love me. Otherwise you'd still be a swan." He felt Emma snort in his arms. Though he couldn't see her face, he imagined that she was rolling her eyes.

He slowly released her. "I know this can never make up for everything, but I promise if you give me a second chance I'll make it up to you. Prove that I'm worthy of you."

A tear slowly made its way down Emma's cheek. "Promise?"

Warmth flooded through Graham's body. "Promise."

She smiled. It was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard. "I love you." He said again.

"Love you too." She answered, pressing her lips against his. It felt so amazing. They just stood there, Graham's arms wrapped around Emma, listening to the surf crash against the shore.

"Hey. What's that?" Emma squinted off to the distance. "Is that a tent?" She instantly ran off towards it and Graham followed.

"Oh my God." She clapped her hand over her mouth to stop from laughing. "You did all this…for me?"

Graham nodded. Earlier, before he'd come back to find Emma missing and Scarlett on the couch, he'd come to the beach to set up a beach tent with a huge banner that said I'm Sorry Emma in all caps and a picnic full of her favorite foods. He'd asked Archie on how to get Emma to forgive him, and the therapist/conscience had suggested a big romantic gesture. Made sense, since Graham knew Emma was secretly into that stuff.

"Yeah…" He said bashfully. "Ya know, just in case you stayed mad."

"Aww…" She said, touched. "No one's ever done that for me before.

"Told you I loved you." He pressed his lips to hers again.

They spent the rest of the day on the beach, enjoying each other's company, reveling in the fact that things were and always would, be ok. Forever.

**Author's note: So...this concludes Long Gone. Yeah, I can't believe it either. Thank you SO much to everyone who read, reviewed, followed, and favorited. It really means a lot :) And special gigantic thanks to MonkeyLovr, who planned so much of this story! For anyone who's interested, plz check out my new Once fanfic, Scattered. **


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